• Saeveo@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      The use of “urchin” to refer to children is separate from its original meaning.

      Maybe it became that as a word for something underfoot?

    • FarFarAway@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Thats a street urchin. Strangely, this blog post was one of the first links that came up. It ponders how the name street urchin came to be.

      It says

      Looking in the OED, I see two possibly relevant definitions. 1c. A goblin or elf. (From the supposition that they occasionally assumed the form of a hedgehog.)… There is also 4a. A pert, mischievous, or roguish youngster; a brat.

      Edit: formatting is crazy

    • ClemaX@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      In French, oursin (urchin) seems to be the diminutive of ours, which means bear. So oursin means something like “little bear”.