chigoe
/ˈt͡ʃɪ.ɡoʊ/ noun
Forms chigoes
- noun A small tropical flea, Tunga penetrans, whose females burrow under the skin of animals, including humans, and lay their eggs, causing strong irritation and sores.
Synonyms
chegoe chegre chigger chigre chique djigga jigger chigoe flea Tunga penetrans
Etymology
Uncertain. Possibly from a Cariban language term such as Kari'na siko (“chigoe”) (early recorded variant chico), from Proto-Cariban *tikô, or else a West African borrowing such as Wolof or Yoruba jiga (“insect”). The eighteenth century historian Charlevoix refers to them as chique in his 1730 history of Hispaniola.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A species of flea (Pulex penetrans), common in the West Indies and South America, which often attacks the feet or any exposed part of the human body, and burrowing beneath the skin produces great irritation. When the female is allowed to remain and breed, troublesome sores result, which are sometimes dangerous. See Jigger.
Etymology [Cf. F. chigue, perh. fr. Catalan chic small, Sp. chico; or of Peruvian origin.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “chigoe”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details