formication

English

Etymology

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

Noun

formication (countable and uncountable, plural formications)

1. (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

• formic
• formic acid
• formicate

Further reading

• formication on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

formication f (plural formications)

1. formication

Further reading

• “formication”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.