Itchy

How to spell itchy

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce itchy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does itchy mean?

1. adjectiveHaving or causing an uncomfortable sensation that makes you want to scratch.

Itchy in a sentence

• The woollen jumper left her arms feeling itchy all afternoon.

• A single mosquito bite can stay itchy for days.

Where does itchy come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the noun and verb 'itch', which trace back to the Old English verb 'giccan', meaning 'to itch', and its related noun 'gicce'. These were part of a wider family of West Germanic words for the same prickling sensation, with close relatives in Dutch 'jeuken' and German 'jucken', both meaning 'to itch'. The early spellings looked very different from today's because of the soft 'g' sound, but by Middle English the word had settled into forms close to the modern 'itch'. The adjective 'itchy' is a much later, straightforward formation, made by adding the common '-y' ending to the noun to describe something that itches or causes itching. Because the base word ends in a 'ch' sound, writers occasionally hesitate over the spelling, but it simply keeps the whole word 'itch' and tacks on a single 'y'.

How the word is built

• itch (root, from Old English giccan: to itch)
• -y (adjective suffix forming 'having the quality of')