urchin
/ˈɝt͡ʃɪn/ noun C1- A mischievous child.
- A street urchin, a child who lives, or spends most of their time, in the streets.
- A sea urchin.
- One of a pair in a series of small card cylinders arranged around a carding drum; so called from its fancied resemblance to the hedgehog.
- A neutron-generating device that triggered the nuclear detonation of the earliest plutonium atomic bombs.
Plural urchins
From the library
There he was, sure enough, a small urchin with a little bundle upon his shoulder, toiling slowly up the hill.
“Edward, you naughty boy,” exclaimed Madame de Villefort, snatching the mutilated book from the urchin’s grasp, “you are positively past bearing; you really disturb the conversation; go, leave us, and join your sister Valentine in dear grandpapa Noirtier’s room.”
You give away horses worth a thousand louis; you save the lives of ladies of high rank and beauty; under the name of Major Black you run thoroughbreds ridden by tiny urchins not larger than marmots; then, when you have carried off the golden trophy of victory, instead of setting any value on it, you give it to the first handsome woman you think of!”
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