Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Itch?

\Itch\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Itched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Itching}.] [OE. icchen, ?icchen, 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\, 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. 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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}. (Zo["o]l.) 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.