Hickey

For other uses, see Hickey (disambiguation).

"Love bite" redirects here. For the film, see Love Bite.

Hickey
Other names	Kiss mark, love bite, bug bite, love mark
File:Love bite.jpg
Hickeys on the neck
Pronunciation	Hick-ee
Specialty	Dermatology
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.

Etymology

The origin of the word is from its earlier meaning of "pimple, skin lesion" (c. 1915); perhaps a sense extension and spelling variation from the earlier word meaning "small gadget, device; any unspecified object" which has an unknown origin (1909).