A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1499-1605
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Hurch(e)oun, n. Also: hurch(e)on(e, hurchun, hurtchoun. [North midl. ME. (once) hurchon (c 1425), ME. hirchon, -oun (c 1325), ONF. herichon, F. hérisson (also dial. hurchon). Cf. Hyrcheoun. In this form Sc. and north. Eng. dial.] A hedgehog. Also transf. and attrib. c1500-c1512 Dunb. Flyt. 179.
Hard hurcheoun, hirpland, hippit as ane harrow a1500 Henr. Fab. 895.
The … hurcheoun [B. hurtchoun] and the hirpland hair a1500 Ib. III. 151/32.
The hair of the hurcheoun nocht half deill hakkit c1500-c1512 Dunb. Tua Mar. W. 107.
With his hard hurcheone skyn sa heklis he my chekis 1531 Bell. Boece I. xlv.
Sum [fish] ar … bakkit like ane hurcheon a1568 Bannatyne MS 156 a/43.
The hurchoun to the kirk maid bown, To ring the commoun bell a1605 Montg. Ch. & Slae 15.
I sawe the hurchone [v.r. hurcheon, hurchun] and the haire … hopping to and fro a1605 Id. Flyt. 477 (T).
Fra the dames … haid done thair devoir In having that hurchoun [sc. the child] 1591 Criminal Trials I. 253.
The said Jonett … wes trublit with hurchouins [by witchcraft]
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"Hurchoun n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 11 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/hurcheoun>
