urchin

Everyday

1. An urchin (sea urchin) is a small, round sea animal with a hard shell covered in sharp spines, which lives on the sea floor and rock pools. tree →
2. In old stories, an urchin is a poor, dirty, often cheeky child who lives on the streets. tree →

In the lessons

In science sea urchins appear in lessons about the seashore, rock pools and ocean food chains; they eat seaweed and are eaten by sea otters and fish. In beach safety, stepping on an urchin's spines hurts, so wear water shoes on rocks. In stories like those by Charles Dickens, street urchins are poor children in old cities. Phrases: «sea urchin», «street urchin».

Examples

• I saw a purple sea urchin in the rock pool. tree →
• Wear water shoes so you don't step on a sea urchin. tree →
• Sea otters crack open urchins to eat them. tree →
• The urchin's spines are very sharp. tree →
• In the old story, a street urchin stole a loaf of bread. tree →
• Sea urchins move slowly on tiny tube feet. tree →
• Too many urchins can eat a whole kelp forest. tree →
• The cheeky urchin ran off laughing. tree →
• One day two street-urchins were playing and wading in the gutter, picking up old nails, pennies, and such things. tree →

Note

Countable: «an urchin» (use «an» because it starts with a vowel sound). Its old meaning was «hedgehog», which is why the spiny sea animal got the name. The «street urchin» sense is old-fashioned.

In Jewish tradition

In the Book of Job, "urchins" means scornful young children or low, worthless people who mock Job, not sea animals.

Interpretation. Job's complaint that even the lowest people mock him is read as a picture of how far he has fallen in his suffering.

Examples

• Even urchins despised me; if I arise, they speak against me. (Writings JOB.19.18, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable: «an urchin» (use «an» because it starts with a vowel sound). Its old meaning was «hedgehog», which is why the spiny sea animal got the name. The «street urchin» sense is old-fashioned.

Early Modern English

Meaning

A poor or mischievous child, or in the first sentence a hedgehog. tree →

Then and now

Today "urchin" usually means a sea urchin. The sentences use the old sense of a poor or mischievous child, and in the first sentence a hedgehog.

Examples

• "In the fourth glass is neither herb, bird, nor urchin. (Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen) tree →
• “They say he is a mischief-maker, a tramp, a street urchin--” (The Adventures of Pinocchio) tree →
• One day two street-urchins were playing and wading in the gutter, picking up old nails, pennies, and such things. (The Yellow Fairy Book) tree →

Note

Today: scruffy child.