n.1 any small nocturnal insect-eating mammal of the genus Erinaceus, esp. E. europaeus, having a piglike snout and a coat of spines, and rolling itself up into a ball for defence.
2 a porcupine or other animal similarly covered with spines.
Derivatives:
hedgehoggy adj.
Etymology: ME f. HEDGE (from its habitat) + HOG (from its snout)