Canadian porcupine

noun

A North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum).

Meanings

nounCanadian porcupine (plural Canadian porcupines)

plural Canadian porcupines · alternative Canada porcupine

  1. A North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum).

    Canadian porcupines may have coats varying from almost black to grizzled brown or "tweedy" slate.

    1958, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Game News, volume 29, page 99
    2 more examples

    There are deer (Caribou), bears, wolves, foxes, martens, otters, beavers, and Canadian porcupines in the interior; most of which are hunted for their skins by the few inhabitants of the coast.

    1837, Henry Wolsey Bayfield, Sailing Directions for the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence, page 173

    The fisher is said to live much on frogs in the summer season; but I have been informed that its favourite food is the Canadian porcupine, which it kills by biting on the belly.

    1838, Félix de Azara, The Natural History of the Quadrupeds of Paraquay and the River la Plata, page 262

    Synonyms: cawquaw, North American porcupine, urson, common porcupine

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum).

Cite this entry
APA

Canadian porcupine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Canadian%20porcupine

MLA

“Canadian porcupine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Canadian%20porcupine. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Canadian porcupine,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Canadian%20porcupine.

Source: Canadian porcupine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.