itch
Noun · VerbOpen English WordNet
Verb (4)itches, itched, itching
- scrape or rub as if to relieve itching“Don't scratch your insect bites!”Synonyms: rubscratchMore general irritate
- have or perceive an itch“I'm itching — the air is so dry!”More general ache, smartMore specific tingle, tickle
- cause to perceive an itch“his skin itched”More general induce, stimulate
- have a strong desire or urge to do something“She is itching to start the project”“He is spoiling for a fight”Synonyms: spoilMore general desire, want
Noun (3)itches
- a contagious skin infection caused by the itch mite; characterized by persistent itching and skin irritation“he has a bad case of the itch”Synonyms: scabiesType of infection
- a strong restless desire“why this urge to travel?”Synonyms: urgeType of desire
- an irritating cutaneous sensation that produces a desire to scratchSynonyms: itchinessitchingType of cutaneous sensation, haptic sensationKinds pruritus
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: 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.— Geoffrey Chaucer
2. To have a constant desire or teasing uneasiness; to long for; as, itching ears. “An itching palm.” William Shakespeare
1. Medicine 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.— John 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 Zoology, 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. Zoology 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’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54