hedgehog

Meanings

Noun

• A small mammal, of the family Erinaceidae or subfamily Erinaceinae (spiny hedgehog, the latter characterized by their spiny back and often by the habit of rolling up into a ball when attacked.)
• Any of several spiny mammals, such as the porcupine, that are similar to the hedgehog.
• A type of moveable military barricade made from crossed logs or steel bars, laced with barbed wire, used to damage or impede tanks and vehicles; Czech hedgehog.
• 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.
• A type of chocolate cake (or slice), somewhat similar to an American brownie.
• A form of dredging machine.
• Certain flowering plants with parts resembling a member of family Erinaceidae
• The edible fungus Hydnum repandum.
• A kind of electrical transformer with open magnetic circuit, the ends of the iron wire core being turned outward and presenting a bristling appearance.
• 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.

Verb

• To make use of a hedgehog barricade as a defensive maneuver.
• To array with spiky projections like the quills of a hedgehog.
• To curl up into a defensive ball.

Related

Similar words

• urchin , furze-pig , fuzz-pig , hedgepig , hedgy-boar , prickly-pig , Erinaceus europaeus
• Calvary clover, Calvary medick, hedgehog medick

Origin

• From hedge + hog.