Plural of urchin; can mean sea urchins (spiky ocean animals) or mischievous children.
From Old French 'urchin,' from Latin 'ericius' (hedgehog). The animal sea urchin was named because its spines resembled a hedgehog, and the term 'street urchin' came from the mischievous, prickly nature of wild children.
It's wild that the same word describes both a spiky sea creature and a cheeky street kid—Shakespeare and Dickens both used 'urchin' for troublemaking children, and the spiky parallel is perfect!
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