itch

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪtʃ/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɪtʃ

Etymology 1

Old English ġyċċe.

Noun

Wikipedia 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.

Derived terms

• itchy
• jock itch

Translations

a sensation felt on an area of the skin that causes a person or animal to want to scratch

Arabic: Moroccan Arabic: حكّة (Hekka) f. Armenian: քոր (hy) (k’or) Dutch: jeuk (nl) m. Esperanto: juko (eo) Finnish: kutina (fi), syyhy (fi) French: démangeaison (fr) German: Jucken (de) n., Juckreiz (de) m. Hebrew: גירוד (he) [girud]

Hungarian: viszketés (hu) Italian: prurito (it) m. Japanese: かゆみ (ja) (kayumi) Portuguese: coceira (pt) f. (Brazil), comichão (pt) f. (Portugal) Romanian: mâncărime (ro) f. Russian: зуд (ru) (zud) m. Spanish: picazón (es) f., escozor (es) m., picor (es) m., comezón (es) m. Thai: ความคัน (th) Walloon: schôpe (wa) f.

a desire

Dutch: jeuk (nl) in de vingers, jeuk in de handen Finnish: halu (fi), hinku (fi) Japanese: 渇望 (ja) (katsubō)

Romanian: dorință (ro) f. Thai: ความต้องการ (th), ความคัน (th), ความอยาก (th), ความคัน (th)

Etymology 2

Old English ġiċċan.

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To feel the need to scratch.
   • 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.

   • 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

• make one's teeth itch

Translations

to feel the need to scratch

Armenian: քոր գալ (hy) (k’or gal) Chinese: Mandarin: 癢 (zh), 痒 (zh) (yǎng) Czech: svědět (cs) Dutch: jeuken (nl), kriebelen (nl) Esperanto: juki (eo) Finnish: kutista, syyhytä French: démanger (fr) German: jucken (de)

Hungarian: viszket (hu) Italian: prudere (it) Japanese: かゆみを生じる (ja) (kayumi o shōjiru) Latvian: niezēt (lv) Navajo: yihę́ę́s Russian: зудеть (ru) (zudét'), чесаться (ru) (česát'sja) Spanish: picar (es) Urdu: کهجلی (khujli)

to want or desire

Dutch: jeuken in de vingers, jeuken in de handen Esperanto: (la manoj) juki sin

Finnish: palaa halusta tehdä Japanese: 渇望する (ja) (katsubō suru)

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