porcupine

From Middle English porke despyne, borrowed from Old French porc-espin, itself from Latin porcus ("pig") plus spinus ("spine") — literally "spine pig."

The compound has stayed remarkably literal across its journey from Latin to English, keeping its "pig plus spine" meaning intact rather than shifting.

It shares its Old French root with Spanish puercoespín, Italian porcospino, and Portuguese porco-espinho — all essentially saying "spine pig" in their own tongues.