pruriginous, a.
(prʊˈrɪdʒɪnəs)
(Also 8 -genous, 9 -ginious.)
[ad. F. prurigineux (1495 in Godef. Compl.), ad. late L. prūrīginōs-us adj., f. prūrīgo, -inem: see next and -ous.]
1. Affected by or liable to prurigo or itching; pertaining to or of the nature of prurigo.
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., Pruriginous, full of the itch. 1705 Greenhill Embalming 164 Their Blood becoming Pruriginous..wou'd..produce Mange, Scabs and Leprosies. 1742 C. Owen Serpents ii. 151 Its Bite..produces..pruriginous Pain in the Flesh. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 814 A general eruption which was in parts very pruriginous. |
† 2. Characterized by mental itching, curiosity, or uneasiness; irritable, excitable, fretful. Obs.
| 1609 Bp. W. Barlow Answ. Nameless Cath. 99 [He] hath not yet purged the pruriginous humor of his scoffing braine. 1678 R. L'Estrange Seneca's Mor. ii. ix. (1696) 198 In these [brooding or morose] Dispositions there is a kind of pruriginous Phancy that makes some People take delight in Labour, and Uneasiness. |
† 3. As a term of abuse; cf. mangy a. 3. Obs.
| 1712 [Oldisworth] Odes Horace iii. 17/2 Heinsius unfortunately fell into that Prurigenous blunder, by having too much regard for Julius Scaliger. 1825 Hogg in Blackw. Mag. XVII. 113 If thou'rt a Cotquean by my soul, I'll split thy pruriginous nowl. |