itching

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪt͡ʃɪŋ/

Etymology 1

From Middle English ecchinge, ȝitchinge, ʒicchinde, ʒichande (also unassibilated as yckyng), from Old English ġiċċende (“itching”), from Proto-West Germanic *jukkjandi, present participle of *jukkjan (“to itch”), equivalent to itch +‎ -ing.

Verb

itching

1. present participle of itch

Etymology 2

From Middle English icchynge, ichynge, ycchenge, yecchyng, ʒicchunge (also unassibilated as ʒykynge), equivalent to itch +‎ -ing.

Noun

itching (plural itchings)

1. A sensation that itches.
   • 1856, Forbes Winslow, The Journal of Psychological Medicine and Mental Pathology (page 71)

     Itchings, hitherto unknown, are felt all over the body, and render my skin sometimes painfully tender, sometimes quite benumbed, as if it were dead.