porcupine
n.n. a small animal with a body covered in sharp spines. It uses these spines to protect itself from predators.
n. a small, nocturnal mammal of the family Erethizontidae, characterized by a coat of sharp quills used for defense.
The porcupine rolled into a ball to protect itself.
While hiking through the forest, we spotted a porcupine foraging for bark and berries.
The porcupine's quills are actually modified hairs that contain tiny barbs, making them difficult for predators to remove once they become embedded in the skin.
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 19, 2026