Hickey

From Handwiki

Short description: Mark on the skin made by sucking or biting
Hickey
Other namesKiss mark, love bite, bug bite, love mark
Hickeys on the neck
Pronunciation
  • Hick-ee
Duration5-12 days
Causessuction on skin

A hickey, hickie or sometimes referred to as a love bite in British English, is a bruise or bruise-like mark caused by kissing or sucking skin, usually on the neck, arm, or earlobe. While biting may be part of giving a hickey, sucking is sufficient to burst small superficial blood vessels under the skin.

Etymology

The origin of the word is from its earlier meaning of "pimple, skin lesion" (c. 1915); perhaps a sense extension and spelling variation from the earlier word meaning "small gadget, device; any unspecified object" which has an unknown origin (1909).[1]

References

  1. "hickie - Origin and meaning of hickie by Online Etymology Dictionary". https://www.etymonline.com/word/hickie. 
Classification
D
  • ICD-10: Xxx.x
  • ICD-9-CM: xxx



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Categories: [Injuries] [Injuries of neck]


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