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Webster 1913 Edition

Itch

Itch

(ĭch)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Itched
(ĭcht)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Itching
.]
[OE.
icchen
,
ȝicchen
, AS.
giccan
; akin to D.
jeuken
,
joken
, G.
jucken
, OHG.
jucchen
.]
1.
To have an uneasy sensation in the skin, which inclines the person to scratch the part affected.
My mouth hath
itched
all this long day.
Chaucer.
2.
To have a constant desire or teasing uneasiness; to long for;
as,
itching
ears
.
“An itching palm.”
Shak.

Itch

,
Noun.
1.
(Med.)
An eruption of small, isolated, acuminated vesicles, produced by the entrance of a parasitic mite (the
Sarcoptes scabei
), and attended with itching. It is transmissible by contact.
2.
Any itching eruption.
3.
A sensation in the skin occasioned (or resembling that occasioned) by the itch eruption; – called also
scabies
,
psora
, etc.
4.
A constant irritating desire.
An
itch
of being thought a divine king.
Dryden.
Baker’s itch
.
See under
Baker
.
–
Barber's itch
,
sycosis.
–
Bricklayer's itch
,
an eczema of the hands attended with much itching, occurring among bricklayers.
–
Grocer's itch
,
an itching eruption, being a variety of eczema, produced by the sugar mite (
Tyrogluphus sacchari
).
–
Itch insect
(Zool.)
,
a small parasitic mite (
Sarcoptes scabei
) which burrows and breeds beneath the human skin, thus causing the disease known as the itch. See Illust. in Append.
–
Itch mite
.
(Zool.)
Same as
Itch insect
, above. Also, other similar mites affecting the lower animals, as the horse and ox.
–
Sugar baker's itch
,
a variety of eczema, due to the action of sugar upon the skin.
–
Washerwoman's itch
,
eczema of the hands and arms, occurring among washerwomen.

Webster 1828 Edition

Itch

ITCH

, n.
1.
A cutaneous disease of the human race, appearing in small watery pustules on the skin, accompanied with an uneasiness or irritation that inclines the patient to use friction. This disease is supposed by some authors to be occasioned by a small insect, a species of Acarus, as the microscope detects these insects in the vesicles. Others suppose the pustules only form a nidus for the insects. This disease is taken only by contact or contagion.
2.
The sensation in the skin occasioned by the disease.
3.
A constant teasing desire; as an itch for praise; an itch for scribbling.

ITCH

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To feel a particular uneasiness in the skin, which inclines the person to scratch the part.
2.
To have a constant desire or teasing inclination; as itching ears. 2 Tim.4.

Definition 2024

itch

itch

English

Noun

itch ‎(plural itches)

  1. A sensation felt on an area of the skin that causes a person or animal to want to scratch.
  2. A desire or want.
    • 1895, George Meredith, The Amazing Marriage:
      ... it left, however, a bee at his ear and an itch to transfer the buzzer's attentions and tease his darling; for she had betrayed herself as right good game.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

itch ‎(third-person singular simple present itches, present participle itching, simple past and past participle itched)

  1. (intransitive) To feel itchy; to feel a need to be scratched.
    • 1597, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
      Capulet: ... Speak not, reply not, do not answer me; / My fingers itch. Wife, we scarce thought us blest / That God had lent us but this only child; / But now I see this one is one too much, / And that we have a curse in having her: / Out on her, hilding!
  2. (intransitive) To want or desire.
    He started learning to drive and he has been itching for opportunities to practice ever since.
  3. (transitive) To cause to feel an itch.
  4. (transitive, colloquial) To scratch or rub so as to relieve an itch.
    • 2002, M D Huddleston, Missing Paige:
      "What makes you suspect him?" Max asked as he itched his neck.
    • 2002 January 4, "Cyd" (username), Itching, in alt.support.mult-sclerosis, Usenet:
      I have to take both shoes and socks off! If I go bare foot I'm ok! I also get itching on my r/palm of my hand. I itch it so much that it's raw!
    • 2003 November 21, "Jim Patterson" (username), Behavior Therapy for Itchy Clothes?, in alt.support.ocd, Usenet:
      Basically I go through a half hour of trying to figure out of it is an fake OCD itch or a regular itch before I itch it (if I determine it's a "fake" itch, then I try not to itch it).
    • 2003, Ray Emerson, The Riddle of Cthulhu:
      Ulysses thumped his side and itched his back side, then slipped into his car.
    • 2004, Philip Smucker, Al Qaeda's Great Escape: The Military and the Media on Terror's Trail:
      But when we asked more about the famous man whose specter still commanded the heights, the guard just sneered at me, pointed his gun back toward the road with one hand, and itched his chin with the other.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

The noun is from Middle English icche, ȝicche, from Old English ġiċċe, ġyċċe ‎(“an itch”), from Proto-Germanic *jukjǭ ‎(“an itch”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots yeuk ‎(“an itch, itchiness”), Dutch jeuk ‎(“an itch”).

The verb is from Middle English icchen, ȝicchen, from Old English ġiċċan, ġyċċan ‎(“to itch”), from Proto-Germanic *jukjaną ‎(“to itch”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots yeuk ‎(“to itch”), West Frisian jûkje ‎(“to itch”), Dutch jeuken ‎(“to itch”), Low German jocken ‎(“to itch”), German jucken ‎(“to itch”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪt͡ʃ/
  • Rhymes: -ɪtʃ

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