| Hickey | |
| Pronounce: | Hick-ee |
| Field: | Dermatology |
| Synonym: | Kiss mark, love bite, bug bite, love mark |
| Duration: | 3–14 days |
| Causes: | suction 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 biting or sucking the skin of a person, usually on their 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 to produce bruising. A hickey is sometimes used to mark someone as being the target of a partner's romantic affection or as belonging to them.[1] [2] [3] [4]
The origin of the word is from its earlier meaning of "pimple, skin lesion" ; perhaps a sense extension and spelling variation from the earlier word meaning "small gadget, device; any unspecified object" which has an unknown origin (1909).[5]