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HEDGEHOG
hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, Erinaceus europeaeus
(noun) small nocturnal Old World mammal covered with both hair and protective spines
porcupine, hedgehog
(noun) relatively large rodents with sharp erectile bristles mingled with the fur
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
hedgehog (plural hedgehogs)
A small mammal, of the family Erinaceidae or subfamily Erinaceinae (spiny hedgehog, the latter characterized by their spiny back and often by the habit of rolling up into a ball when attacked.)
(US) Any of several spiny mammals, such as the porcupine, that are similar to the hedgehog.
A type of moveable military barricade made from crossed logs or steel bars, laced with barbed wire, used to damage or impede tanks and vehicles; Czech hedgehog.
(informal, military, historical) A spigot mortar-type of depth charge weapon from World War II that simultaneously fires a number of explosives into the water to create a pattern of underwater explosions intended to attack submerged submarines.
(Australia) A type of chocolate cake (or slice), somewhat similar to an American brownie.
A form of dredging machine.
Certain flowering plants with parts resembling a member of family Erinaceidae
Medicago intertexta, the pods of which are armed with short spines.
Retzia capensis of South Africa.
The edible fungus Hydnum repandum.
Synonyms: sweet tooth, wood hedgehog
A kind of electrical transformer with open magnetic circuit, the ends of the iron wire core being turned outward and presenting a bristling appearance.
A way of serving food at a party, consisting of a half melon or potato etc. with individual cocktail sticks of cheese and pineapple stuck into it.
Synonyms
• (mammal with spines): urchin (archaic), furze-pig (West Country), fuzz-pig (West Country), hedgepig (South England), hedgy-boar (Devon), prickly-pig (Yorkshire), Erinaceus europaeus
• (Medicago intertexta): Calvary clover, Calvary medick, hedgehog medick
Coordinate terms
• (mammal with spines): gymnure
Verb
hedgehog (third-person singular simple present hedgehogs, present participle hedgehogging, simple past and past participle hedgehogged)
(military) To make use of a hedgehog barricade as a defensive maneuver.
To array with spiky projections like the quills of a hedgehog.
To curl up into a defensive ball.
Source: Wiktionary
Hedge"hog`, n.
1. (Zoƶl.)
Definition: A small European insectivore (Erinaceus EuropƦus), and other allied species of Asia and Africa, having the hair on the upper part of its body mixed with prickles or spines. It is able to roll itself into a ball so as to present the spines outwardly in every direction. It is nocturnal in its habits, feeding chiefly upon insects.
2. (Zoƶl.)
Definition: The Canadian porcupine.[U.S]
3. (Bot.)
Definition: A species of Medicago (M. intertexta), the pods of which are armed with short spines; -- popularly so called. Loudon.
4. A form of dredging machine. Knight. Hedgehog caterpillar (Zoƶl.), the hairy larvƦ of several species of bombycid moths, as of the Isabella moth. It curls up like a hedgehog when disturbed. See Woolly bear, and Isabella moth.
– Hedgehog fish (Zoƶl.), any spinose plectognath fish, esp. of the genus Diodon; the porcupine fish.
– Hedgehog grass (Bot.), a grass with spiny involucres, growing on sandy shores; burgrass (Cenchrus tribuloides).
– Hedgehog rat (Zoƶl.), one of several West Indian rodents, allied to the porcupines, but with ratlike tails, and few quills, or only stiff bristles. The hedgehog rats belong to Capromys, Plagiodon, and allied genera.
– Hedgehog shell (Zoƶl.), any spinose, marine, univalve shell of the genus Murex.
– Hedgehog thistle (Bot.), a plant of the Cactus family, globular in form, and covered with spines (Echinocactus).
– Sea hedgehog. See Diodon.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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