Where Does the Word Hedgehog Come from?

It’s hedgehog season! How was the hedgehog named?

How often do you learn a new word in a foreign language and think about where that word came from? How was it ‘born’, who were it’s ‘language parents’? Most people look at the little spikey creature with its pointy face, little black eyes and cute little feet and think “That’s a hedgehog” and go no further. I’m Lana Betts though and I’m always curious, so join me in my hedgehog investigation.

Hedgehog is really two words stuck together: ‘hedge’ and ‘hog’. A hedge is a row of bushes planted together in a line to create a wall of plants, and a hog is a pig. So the 15th century word “heyghoge” described these spikey animals as little pigs that live in hedgerows. This developed over time into the modern English Hedgehog. It’s a beautiful description of a hedgehog if you have ever looked at their little piggy noses, or listened to them eat. I can often hear them chewing on slugs in the garden outside my office, and you could never believe that an animal that small can make so much noise.

Next time you walk in a garden or a public park and see a hedge or some bushes, think about the little hedgerow pig and its English language parents. As bonus information they love cheap cat food and keep slugs out of your garden. Hedgehogs are nature’s pest control.

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