Definition of porcupine Porcupine

/pɔˈɹkjʌpajˌn/ - [porkyupayn] - por•cu•pine

We found 8 definitions of porcupine from 7 different sources.

What does porcupine mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: porcupines
porcupine - relatively large rodents with sharp erectile bristles mingled with the fur
		hedgehog
		gnawer, rodent relatively small placental mammals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing
		quill a stiff hollow protective spine on a porcupine or hedgehog
		old world porcupine terrestrial porcupine

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Wiktionary

porcupine (Noun)
Any of several rodents covered with stiff, sharp, erectile, spines or quills that stand straight up when the animal is attacked or surprised, belonging to one of two taxonomic families: Hystricidae Old World porcupines and Erethizontidae New World porcupines.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

porcupine (n.)
Any Old Word rodent of the genus Hystrix, having the back covered with long, sharp, erectile spines or quills, sometimes a foot long. The common species of Europe and Asia (Hystrix cristata) is the best known.
porcupine (n.)
Any species of Erethizon and related genera, native of America. They are related to the true porcupines, but have shorter spines, and are arboreal in their habits. The Canada porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus) is a well known species.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

porcupine
A large rodent with long quills that stand straight up when it is attacked or surprised.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

porcupine
por′kū-pīn, n. one of the largest of rodent quadrupeds, covered with spines or quills. [O. Fr. porc espin—L. porcus, a pig, spina, a spine.]

Wikipedia

A porcupine is a rodent with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend them from predators. The porcupines include the third biggest rodent, after the capybara, and beaver, and are not to be confused with hedgehogs. Most porcupines are about 60-90 cm long, with a 20-25 cm long tail. Weighing between 12-35 pounds (5-16 kg), they are rounded, large and slow. Porcupines come in various shades of brown, grey, and the unusual white. The name "porcupine" comes from Middle French "porc d'épine" "thorny pork", hence the nickname "quill pig" for the animal.

The animal's quills or spines take on many forms, depending on the type, but all are hairs coated with thick plates of keratin, and they are in the skin musculature. Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) have quills in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) single quills are mixed with bristles, underfur, and hair.

Porcupine quills are as sharp as needles, can be removed very easily, and will remain stuck in an attacker. Unlike needles, however, the quills of New World porcupines have microscopic, backwards-facing barbs on the tip that catch on the skin making them hard and painful to pull out. Quills are about 75 mm long and 2 mm wide. If a quill becomes put in the tissues of an attacker, the barbs act to pull the quill further into the tissues with the normal muscle movements of the attacker, moving up to many millimeters in a day. Animals who try to eat porcupines have been known to die because of quill pen