Etymology

formication

F4O1R1M3I1C3A1T1I1O1N1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Latin formīca
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromformīca“ant”
  2. English todayformication

Circa 1700, from Latin formīca (“ant”) + -tion.

Words from the same roots

Latinformīca all →

formicformyl-formformicanformicantformicarianformicariumformicaryformicideformicivorousformicophilia

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.