## Etymology
From Middle English irchin ('hedgehog'), from Old French herichon, from Vulgar Latin *hēriciōnem, from Latin hēricius ('hedgehog'); the 'ragged child' sense arose from the prickly, unkempt image.

## AI Etymology
Urchin comes from Middle English irchin ('hedgehog'), from Old French herichon, from Vulgar Latin *hēriciōnem, from Latin hēricius ('hedgehog'); the 'ragged child' sense arose from the prickly, unkempt image. In current use it is a noun meaning "a mischievous or poorly clothed child; a street waif". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The historical chain includes Old French herichon and Latin hēricius. The semantic development is therefore important as well as the form: the word moves from the older concrete, technical, or literal setting into the present figurative or specialized sense.

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