What does "itch" mean?
Itch: To have a constant desire or teasing uneasiness; to long for; as, itching ears. "An itching palm." Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.(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.
- 3.Any itching eruption.
- 4.A sensation in the skin occasioned (or resembling that occasioned) by the itch eruption; -- called also scabies, psora, etc.
- 5.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 (Zoöl.), 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. (Zoöl.) 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.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00