Definitions
small nocturnal Old World mammal covered with both hair and protective spines
Word origin
From Middle English heyghoge; equivalent to hedge + hog. Eclipsed non-native Middle English yrchoun, irchoun (“hedgehog”), from Old French hirchoun, herichon (“hedgehog”); and displaced earlier Middle English il, from Old English īl, iġil (“hedgehog”).
Used in a sentence
“[L]ike Hedg-hogs vvhich / Lye tumbling in my bare-foote vvay, and mount / Their pricks at my foot-fall: ſometime am I / All vvound vvith Adders, vvho vvith clouen tongues / Doe hiſſe me into madneſſe: […]”
“Among the Romans the genital organ of the hedgehog and the wolf were among the ingredients used in aphrodisiac concoctions.”
“Ukrainian civilians have been DIY-ing hedgehogs, welding two bars or beams at an angle to make a cross and then adding a third to ensure it holds its shape even if it's knocked over.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Spiny garden mammal”8 letters
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