Porcupine
[pawr-kyuh-pahyn] /ˈpɔr kyəˌpaɪn/
noun
1.
any of several rodents covered with stiff, sharp, erectile spines or quills, as Erethizon dorsatum of North America.
/ˈpɔːkjʊˌpaɪn/
noun
1.
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
n.
c.1400, porke despyne, from Old French porc-espin (early 13c., Modern French porc-épic), literally “spiny pig,” from Latin porcus “hog” + spina “thorn, spine” (see spike (n.1)). The word had many forms in Middle English and early Modern English, including portepyn, porkpen, porkenpick, porpoynt, and Shakespeare’s porpentine (in “Hamlet”).
noun
A frayed wire rope (WWII Navy)
Read Also:
- Porcupine-anteater
noun 1. an echidna or spiny anteater.
- Porcupinefish
[pawr-kyuh-pahyn-fish] /ˈpɔr kyəˌpaɪnˌfɪʃ/ noun, plural (especially collectively) porcupinefish (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) porcupinefishes. 1. any of several of the family Diodontidae, especially Diodon hystrix, of tropical seas, capable of inflating the body with water or air until it resembles a globe, with erection of the long spines covering the skin.
- Porcupine grass
noun 1. (Austral) another name for spinifex (sense 2)
- Porcupine provisions
plural noun 1. (finance) provisions, such as poison pills or staggered directorships, made in the bylaws of a company to deter takeover bids Also called shark repellents
- Porcupine-river
noun 1. a river in NW Yukon Territory, Canada and NE Alaska, flowing N and W to the Yukon River. 448 miles (721 km) long.