a short, slender, sharp-pointed outgrowth on the bark or epidermis of a plant; a small thorn:the prickles of the blackberry bushes
a small spine or pointed outgrowth on the skin of certain animals.
a tingling sensation on someone’s skin, typically caused by strong emotion:Kathleen felt a prickle of excitement
verb
[no object]
(of a person’s skin or a part of the body) experience a tingling sensation, especially as a result of strong emotion:the sound made her skin prickle with horror
[with object] cause a tingling or mildly painful sensation in:I hate the way the fibers prickle your skin
(of a person) react defensively or angrily to something:she prickled at the implication that she had led a soft and protected life
Origin:
Old Englishpricel 'instrument for pricking, sensation of being pricked'; related to Middle Dutch prickel, from the Germanic base of prick. The verb is partly a diminutive of the verb prick
