Where does “hedgepig” come from?
hedgepig (English) comes from English hedge, from Middle English hegge, from Old English heċġ, from Proto-Germanic *haggju.
hedgepig (English): A hedgehog
Ancestry of “hedgepig”, step by step
hedgepig traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English hedge
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | hedge | A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery,... |
| 2 | Middle English | hegge | A hedge; a plant grown as a boundary; A bush or... |
| 3 | Old English | heċġ | fence |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *haggju | — |
via English pig
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | pig | Any of several intelligent mammalian species of... |
| 2 | Middle English | pigge | A piglet or young pig; A pig irrespective of age;... |
| 3 | Old English | picga | a young pig; piglet |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | piggō | pig |