A tropical climbing plant with hairy pods that cause intense itching when they touch skin; also spelled 'cowhitch' or 'cowage.'
From Hindi 'kiwanch' or Sanskrit 'kumari,' referring to the plant Mucuna pruriens. The word traveled through trade routes from South Asia to English, where it was spelled phonetically as 'cowitch.' The '-itch' ending was influenced by the English word 'itch.'
Cowitch plants evolved their itchy hairs as a defense mechanism against animals eating their seeds, but the hairs are covered in tiny barbed crystals that physically irritate skin—it's chemistry and physics creating nature's worst gardening surprise!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.