2598: Urchin & Hedgehog Jan 25, 2022

Sea urchins use an old word which by itself, would be obsolete. Likely, the word 'urchin' by itself would sooner conjure up images of poor Victorian children before it would a hedgehog, but that is what this once meant. The word is from the Old French dialect form 'irechon' from Latin 'ericius'. This led to Middle English 'yrchoun'. The spikes of a sea urchin give it this name, but hedgehogs have provided the name for military formations involving circles of outward facing spears just as well. It is unclear where the Victorian slang is from.