porcupine

[ pawr-kyuh-pahyn ]

/ ˈpɔr kyəˌpaɪn /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR porcupine ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of several rodents covered with stiff, sharp, erectile spines or quills, as Erethizon dorsatum of North America.

Origin of porcupine

1375–1425; late Middle English porcupyne, variant of porcapyne; replacing porke despyne < Middle French porc d'espine thorny pig. See pork, spine

Words nearby porcupine

porcelainize, porch, porch pirate, porcine, porcino, porcupine, porcupine anteater, porcupine fish, porcupine grass, porcupine provisions, porcupine river

Example sentences from the Web for porcupine

He is the author of Broken Glass, Memoirs of a Porcupine, and African Psycho, among others.

Living Black & Gay in the ’50s |Alain Mabanckou |December 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
My heart was racing, my hands felt like they were covered with porcupine quills.

‘You Have 30 Seconds’: The Real Captain Phillips’s Gripping Memoir |Captain Richard Phillips, Stephan Talty |October 11, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
One day, the porcupine has had enough, and turns to writing a memoir.

This Week’s Hot Reads: April 23, 2012 |Jimmy So |April 24, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Mabanckou pairs the porcupine with a Congolese boy, who attacks and kills neighbors and strangers with little provocation.

This Week’s Hot Reads: April 23, 2012 |Jimmy So |April 24, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

The howdah, pierced all over with arrows, had something the appearance of a porcupine or a giant pincushion.

Female Warriors, Vol. I (of 2) |Ellen C. Clayton
While they were searching, the porcupine ambled away and was soon lost in the darkness.

Bill Bruce on Forest Patrol |Henry Harley Arnold
Moccasins worked into grotesque designs with beads and porcupine quills covered his feet.

Seven and Nine years Among the Camanches and Apaches |Edwin Eastman
The porcupine met his approach with a furious squealing and a clashing of its long teeth.

White Fang |Jack London
Their bodies are covered with long bristles, resembling very much the quills of the porcupine.

Martin Rattler |R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for porcupine

porcupine

/ (ˈpɔːkjʊˌpaɪn) /

noun

any of various large hystricomorph rodents of the families Hystricidae, of Africa, Indonesia, S Europe, and S Asia, and Erethizontidae, of the New World. All species have a body covering of protective spines or quills

Derived forms of porcupine

porcupinish, adjective porcupiny, adjective

Word Origin for porcupine

C14 porc despyne pig with spines, from Old French porc espin; see pork, spine

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

porcupine

noun

Origin of porcupine

Words nearby porcupine

Example sentences from the Web for porcupine

British Dictionary definitions for porcupine

noun

Derived forms of porcupine

Word Origin for porcupine

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

porcupine

noun

Origin of porcupine

Words nearby porcupine

Words related to porcupine

Example sentences from the Web for porcupine

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for porcupine

noun

Derived forms of porcupine

Word Origin for porcupine

British Dictionary definitions for porcupine