Itch

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Itch \Itch\ ([i^]ch), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Itched} ([i^]cht); p.
     pr. & vb. n. {Itching}.] [OE. icchen, [yogh]icchen, AS.
     giccan; akin to D. jeuken, joken, G. jucken, OHG. jucchen.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. To have an uneasy sensation in the skin, which inclines
        the person to scratch the part affected.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              My mouth hath itched all this long day. --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To have a constant desire or teasing uneasiness; to long
        for; as, itching ears. "An itching palm." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Itch \Itch\, n.
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Any itching eruption.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A sensation in the skin occasioned (or resembling that
        occasioned) by the itch eruption; -- called also
        {scabies}, {psora}, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A constant irritating desire.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              An itch of being thought a divine king. --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  itch
       n 1: a contagious skin infection caused by the itch mite;
            characterized by persistent itching and skin irritation;
            "he has a bad case of the itch" [syn: {scabies}]
       2: a strong restless desire; "why this urge to travel?" [syn: {urge}]
       3: an irritating cutaneous sensation that produces a desire to
          scratch [syn: {itchiness}, {itching}]
       v 1: scrape or rub as if to relieve itching; "Don't scratch your
            insect bites!" [syn: {rub}, {scratch}]
       2: have or perceive an itch; "I'm itching--the air is so dry!"
       3: have a strong desire or urge to do something; "She is
          itching to start the project"; "He is spoiling for a
          fight" [syn: {spoil}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  118 Moby Thesaurus words for "itch":
     ache, acne, acne vulgaris, an universal wolf, andromania,
     aphrodisia, appetence, appetency, appetite, appetition,
     biological urge, bodily appetite, carnal desire, concupiscence,
     coveting, crave, craving, dermamycosis, dermatitis, dermatosis,
     desire, die, eczema, elephantiasis, epithelioma, eromania,
     eroticism, eroticomaniac, erotism, erotomania, erysipelas,
     erythema, exanthem, fidget, fleshly lust, furor uterinus,
     goatishness, gynecomania, hanker, hankering, have the fidgets,
     heat rash, herpes, herpes simplex, herpes zoster, hives, horniness,
     hot blood, hot pants, hunger, impetigo, indecency,
     infantile sexuality, irritation, itchiness, itching, jerk, jig,
     jigger, jigget, jiggle, jungle rot, lasciviousness, leprosy,
     libidinousness, lichen, lichen primus, lickerishness, longing,
     lupus, lupus vulgaris, lust, lustfulness, mania, miliaria,
     nymphomania, passion, pemphigus, pine, polymorphous perversity,
     prick, prickle, prickling, prickly heat, pruigo, prurience,
     pruriency, pruritus, psora, ringworm, satyriasis, satyrism,
     scabies, scratch, sexual desire, sexual longing, sexual passion,
     shingles, sigh, skin cancer, sting, tetter, thirst, thrill, tickle,
     tickling, tingle, tingling, twitch, urge, vellicate,
     venereal appetite, want, wish, yearn, yearning, yen, yeuk
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  ITCH, n.  The patriotism of a Scotchman.
  
  
                                    J
  
  
  J is a consonant in English, but some nations use it as a vowel --
  than which nothing could be more absurd.  Its original form, which has
  been but slightly modified, was that of the tail of a subdued dog, and
  it was not a letter but a character, standing for a Latin verb,
  _jacere_, "to throw," because when a stone is thrown at a dog the
  dog's tail assumes that shape.  This is the origin of the letter, as
  expounded by the renowned Dr. Jocolpus Bumer, of the University of
  Belgrade, who established his conclusions on the subject in a work of
  three quarto volumes and committed suicide on being reminded that the
  j in the Roman alphabet had originally no curl.