ground itch n chiefly Sth, S Midl, formerly also NEng Cf cowitch n 3, dew itch n, dew poison n, foot itch n, itch n Ba, toe itch n 1
Any of various rashes or infections associated with contact with the ground.
1778 (1827) Thacher Military Jrl. 146 MA, A considerable number of men . . were infected with the ground itch, generated by laying on the ground. 1798 Barton Coll. for an Essay 47, This complaint is very common, particularly among the negroes, and the poorer sort of white people, in Carolina, Georgia, &c. It is called “Toe-Itch,[”] and [“] Ground-Itch.” It is a kind of ulcerous excoriation between the toes, sometimes extending as high as the instep, and is attended with most intolerable itching. 1840 Daily Picayune (New Orleans LA) [2 Dec 3]/2, [Advt:] She is of dark complexion, middle size, has a sore between two of her fingers, resembling what is called the ground itch. a1854 in 1857 Stone Life Howland 81 RI (as of 1776), On my arrival in Providence, my first effort at improvement was to eradicate the last stages of the Scotch distemper, the ground itch. 1857 Columbus Enquirer Tri-Weekly (GA) [12 Nov 3]/1, Dr. A. W. Allen’s Celebrated Southern Liniment For Man and Horse! A Certain Cure for . . Fresh Cuts, Risings, Ground Itch, Soreness of the Limbs, and Neuralgia. 1863 in 1900 McGregor Hist. 15th Reg. NH 536, We have got the ground itch, and are all lousy. Our chief recreation is eating hardtack, scratching, and hunting lice. I have slept on the ground without any covering ever since we left Carrollton. 1904 Charlotte Med. Jrl. 25.386 NC, Every single case [of hookworm] in the 118 cases, except one, gave a history of ground-itch, and this exception was one of my students from Iredell county, who said he didn’t know what ground-itch was. Admitted that he had suffered with dew-crack. 1917 Jrl. FL Med. Assoc. 4.97, Patients time and again have consulted me regarding what they considered ground itch. On examination, an eczema, dysidrosis, or ringworm infection was found. These condition[s] all itch, and being on the feet the patient naturally calls them ground itch. 1945 Pickard–Buley Midwest Pioneer 80 IL, IN, OH (as of c1880), Immunity from ground itch could be obtained by tying around the ankle a white woolen cord. 1946 PADS 6.16 eNC, Ground itch: . . See dew poison. Pamlico [Co.]. Common. 1947 PADS 8.19 ceIA, Ground itch: Dew poison never heard. 1956 McAtee Some Dialect NC 20. c1960 Wilson Coll.csKY, Dew poison. . . Ringworm on the feet. Some cases may be hookworm. Also called ground-itch (eetch) or toe-itch. 1965–70 DARE (Qu. BB25, . . Common skin diseases) Infs SC40, 44, Ground itch; FL51, Ground itch—comes between your toes and they split; LA2, Ground itch—children that go barefooted in the barn lot have this; SC19, Ground itch—get it from the dew; SC24, Ground itch—from going barefooted, caused by a little worm. 1970 NC Folkl. 18.24, For ground itch, use clean white sand in the tobacco curing barn, walk over it and then go to the pump and run water into porch sink, and then stand in the cold water. 1986 Pederson LAGS Concordance, 36 Infs, chiefly GA, Ground itch. [DARE Ed: Elicited in conversation rather than in response to a specific question.] 2003 Cavender Folk Med. 100 scAppalachians, Also known as “dew poisoning” and “ground itch,” fall sores are lesions that form on the feet, legs, and arms caused by scratches becoming infected with bacteria.