When it comes to words, my position, generally, is that a word means what the Oxford English Dictionary says it means, unless it is a new word, foreign word, American word, or maybe a legal term or scientific term. So, you made me haul out the old OED. It lists meanings in chronological order of adoption. 1. That itches physically, itching. Rare. (Cognate with pruritis, of course) 2. fig. Having an itching desire or curiousity, or an uneasy or morbid craving. 3. Given to the indulgence of lewd ideas, impure-minded, characterized by lasciviousness of thought or mind. 4. Unduly forward or excessive in growth. 5. Bot. Applied to plants which cause an itching or slightly stinging sensation. 6. Comb. as in prurient-minded. Adj.
I think #3 is what we were talking about, "given to the indulgence of lewd ideas, impure-minded, characterized by lasciviousness of thought or mind."
I take it you mean something different. What? |
