formication
English edit
Etymology edit
Circa 1700, from Latin formīca (“ant”) + -tion.
Noun edit
formication (countable and uncountable, plural formications)
- (medicine) An abnormal skin sensation similar to that of insects crawling over or within the skin; a tactile hallucination involving such a sensation. A common side-effect of substance abuse, it can also be experienced with high fever, menopause, skin cancer, diabetic neuropathy, or herpes zoster.
- Synonyms: (archaic) creevles, (informal) creepy-crawlies
- 1853, The Scottish Review:
- Soon the formications and muscular debility returned, not alone, but accompanied with painful cramps and startlings in the feet and calves of the legs.
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
formication on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Noun edit
formication f (plural formications)
Further reading edit
- “formication”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.