Dictionary

urson en · NOUN

Etymology

Compare urchin.

Meanings

1. A species of New World porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum.
   • The urson (Hystrix dorsata)^([sic]) inhabits the United States and Canada, and is the only species of porcupine, properly so called, which appears to have the power of climbing trees. 1833, The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, volume 1, page 443:
   • The urson might be called the spiny beaver, it being of the same size, the same country, and the same form of body;[…]. In the young ursons, the prickles are proportionably larger, more apparent, and the hair shorter and scarcer than in the adults. 1834, Augustus Addison Gould, editor, A System of Natural History, page 253:

Forms

Synonyms

Canadian porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) · cawquaw (Erethizon dorsatum) · North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) · common porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)