In portuguese, it is still the same:
Sea urchin = ouriço do mar
Hedgehog = ouriço cacheiro
Porcupine is porco-espinho; literally, thorn pig.
this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
635 points (99.7% liked)
Science Memes
14937 readers
816 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
French
Sea urchin: oursin ("small bear" kinda)
Porcupine: Porc-épic (epic pork!) which sounds like porc et pics (pork and spikes)
French is rich with playful words.
Hérisson kinda sounds like oursin, I wonder if it evolved from it. (The word not the animal)
Oh right, the image was talking about hedgehogs and not porcupines so the hérisson (probably from hérissé?) and not the porc-épic!
Yeah :)
In Latvian it's just
Hedgehog = Ezis
Sea urchin = Jūras ezis (Literally sea hedgehog)
Same almost for the porcupine tho, it is called dzeloņcūka, which basically translates to barbed pig.
Same in Hungarian
Same in Dutch: zeeëgel.
Same in German: Seeigel
And porcupine is Stachelschwein, literally "thorn pig"
Same in Finnish: Merisiili (meri = sea, siili = hedgehog)
So victorian childeren were just being called stree hedgehogs?
Yeah what was up with that? Were kids spiky back then?
It was mainly for homeless kids, as they were dirty and hunched over and slept under hedges. Which is like one of those un-fun fun facts
Yet another reminder that the past was the worst.
Figuratively, Street kids do tend to be.
And hedgehog means spikepig.
So they're ocean spike pigs.
Litterally the danish word; søpindsvin. 😂
Spike originate in indo european and meaned sharp point, pig derives from proto western germanic for piglet (piggo) So they are called "ocean sharp pointed piglet"
Wikipedia says hedgehogs are called that, because they live in hedges, not because they look like one...
They were also bred for food and brought into Ireland by Normans. Irish people called them 'Gráinneog' (gran-nyog), meaning 'little ugly thing'.
If you punch them, do gold rings explode out of them?
Mmmm, Uni Is one of my favs.
Only one way to find out
Sea urchins? We have those on land, too, they're called land sea urchins.
we also have land seahorses
I train them!
that's still their name in portuguese (ouriço do mar)
Same in German (Seeigel). Though I wondered what an "urchin" is since I learned the word. So still a TIL.
Same in Spanish (erizo de mar)
Now I can't remember the name in french
its Oursin, but apparently Hérisson de mer is used too :3
(altho it’s more rare and old-fashioned, personally i haven’t heard it)
So in Sonic Underground, the main characters are urchin urchins?
That's literally the name in Danish!