Contextualizebeta

porcupine

noun
/ˈpɔː(ɹ)kjʊˌpaɪn/

Etymology

From Middle English porke despyne, from Old French porc-espin, from Latin porcus (“pig”) + spinus (“spine”), hence also spine pig. Cognate with Spanish puercoespín, Italian porcospino, Portuguese porco-espinho.

  1. derived from porcus
  2. derived from porc-espin
  3. inherited from porke despyne

Definitions

  1. Any of several rodents of either of the taxonomic families Hystricidae (Old World…

    Any of several rodents of either of the taxonomic families Hystricidae (Old World porcupines) or Erethizontidae (New World porcupines), both from the infraorder Hystricognathi, noted for their sharp spines or quills, which are raised when the animal is attacked or surprised.

    • I have no evidence of grizzlies killing porcupines or vice versa. However, occasionally there is contact and sometimes a grizzly is injured or a porcupine killed, but the latter is rare.
    • In particular, porcupines, hyenas, and leopards are known in Africa to transport bones to particular places.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for porcupine. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA