Added 9 October 2026
urchin
/ˈɜːtʃɪn/ noun
Latin root: ērīcius Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about urchin at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Poor and often mischievous city child.
Origin
From Middle English yrchoun, irchoun (“hedgehog; sea urchin”), from Old Northern French irechon, from Vulgar Latin *ērīciōnem, from Latin ērīcius. Compare modern French hérisson, whence the English doublet herisson.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)