Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *ežis, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰis ‎(“hedgehog”), perhaps from eǵʰi-no-s “one that deals with snakes” > “snake-eater”. Cognates include Lithuanian ežỹs, regional ẽżis, Proto-Slavic *ežь (Russian ёж ‎(jož), Ukrainian dialectal ож ‎(ož), Bulgarian еж ‎(ež), Czech regional jež, Polish jeż), Old High German igil (< *eǵʰil-), Middle Low German egel, German Igel), Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος ‎(ekhînos), Old Armenian ոզնի ‎(ozni).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛzis]