this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2024
518 points (99.2% liked)

Science Memes

11086 readers
2687 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I'm confused! Doesn't urchin really relate to children?

Is that a colloquialism or more English-on-drugs?

[–] Saeveo@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The use of "urchin" to refer to children is separate from its original meaning.

Maybe it became that as a word for something underfoot?

[–] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

I like this one the best!

[–] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Thats a street urchin. Strangely, this blog post was one of the first links that came up. It ponders how the name street urchin came to be.

It says

Looking in the OED, I see two possibly relevant definitions. 1c. A goblin or elf. (From the supposition that they occasionally assumed the form of a hedgehog.)... There is also 4a. A pert, mischievous, or roguish youngster; a brat.

Edit: formatting is crazy

[–] ClemaX@lemm.ee 4 points 1 month ago

In French, oursin (urchin) seems to be the diminutive of ours, which means bear. So oursin means something like "little bear".