urchin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun poor and often mischievous city child

WordNet

Ur"chin noun
Etymology
OE. urchon, irchon, a hedgehog, OF. ire&cced;on, eri&cced;on, herion, herichon, F. hérisson, a derivative fr. L. ericius, from er a hedgehog, for her; akin to Gr. . Cf. Herisson.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A hedgehog.
  2. (Zoöl.) A sea urchin. See Sea urchin.
  3. A mischievous elf supposed sometimes to take the form a hedgehog. "We 'll dress [them] like urchins, ouphes, and fairies." Shak.
  4. A pert or roguish child; -- now commonly used only of a boy.
    And the urchins that stand with their thievish eyes Forever on watch ran off each with a prize. W. Howitt.
    You did indeed dissemble, you urchin you; but where's the girl that won't dissemble for an husband? Goldsmith.
  5. One of a pair in a series of small card cylinders, arranged around a carding drum; -- so called from its fancied resemblance to the hedgehog. Knight.
Ur"chin adjective
Definitions
  1. Rough; pricking; piercing. R. "Helping all urchin blasts." Milton.

Webster 1913