hedgepig

English

A hedgepig

Etymology

hedge + pig

Noun

hedgepig (plural hedgepigs)

  1. (Berkshire and Oxfordshire) A hedgehog.
    • a. 1606, Shakespeare, William, Macbeth, act 4, scene 1, line 2:
      Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whined.
    • 1855, Kingsley, Charles, “Clovelly Court in the Olden Time”, in Westward Ho!, fourth edition, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, published 1857, page 91:
      That sheeted heifer of Prowse’s is all wrong; her coat stares like a hedgepig's. Tell Jewell to go up and bring her in before night.

References

  • Upton, Clive (2006) An Atlas of English Dialects, →ISBN, Hedgehog, page 137
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