hedgehog

Meaning

Noun

1. A small mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, characterized by their spiny back and often by the habit of rolling up into a ball when attacked, native to Afro-Eurasia.
2. (US) Any of several spiny mammals, such as the porcupine, that are similar to the hedgehog.
3. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Czech hedgehog (“an antitank obstacle constructed from three steel rails”).
4. (historical, informal) 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.
5. (Australia) A type of chocolate cake (or slice), somewhat similar to an American brownie.
6. A form of dredging machine.
7. Certain flowering plants with parts resembling a member of family Erinaceidae
8. Certain flowering plants with parts resembling a member of family Erinaceidae
9. The edible fungus Hydnum repandum.
10. A kind of electrical transformer with open magnetic circuit, the ends of the iron wire core being turned outward and presenting a bristling appearance.
11. 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.
12. A type of plane curve; see Hedgehog (geometry).
13. Someone who has one big overarching personal philosophy or worldview.

Verb

1. To make use of a hedgehog barricade as a defensive maneuver.
2. To array with spiky projections like the quills of a hedgehog.
3. (ambitransitive) To curl up into a defensive ball.

Opposite of

fox

Synonyms

porcupine

Erinaceus europaeus

Erinaceus europeaeus

urchin

porcupinefish

ajargo

Old World porcupine

badger

🦡

hedgehog fish

depth charge

hedgehog position

porcupine fish

Translations

hérisson

🦔

Igel

🦔

riccio

erizo

🦔

eriçó

🦔

egel

🦔

ouriço

🦔

kirpi

🦔

eriç

σκατζόχοιρος

قنفذ

🦔

porcospino

eriçon

σκαντζόχοιρος

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɒɡ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: heyghoge

In summary

From Middle English heyghoge; equivalent to hedge + hog. Eclipsed non-native Middle English yrchoun, irchoun (“hedgehog”), from Old French hirchoun, herichon (“hedgehog”); and displaced earlier Middle English il, from Old English īl, iġil (“hedgehog”).
In the philosophical sense, from the 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaiah Berlin.