[MR] Terminologies

[jbrmm266 at aol.com]

 Adriana writes:

<As far as kids, I've always been partial to the term "urchin."  It does date back to Middle English, though sadly I don't have an OED in front of me to see if that particular meaning is period.  >
 
Well, literally, an urchin is a hedgehog.  And I've always heard or read that the term, applied to children, is pejoritive, usually referring to the children of the lowest classes.
 
Wikipedia bears me out:
 
Urchin is the old English term for hedgehog. As such, it is applied to many things that take a similar form to a hedgehog:
Sea urchins are round and prickly like hedgehogs. 
Children (especially boys) that behave in an annoying manner are commonly called urchins. This comes from the scrunched-face appearance of both hedgehogs and unruly children. 
In old theater, urchin was a common name for an elf or fairy that took on a prickly appearance. 
All of which would argue against its use to refer to children in general.
 
Yours aye
Donal