Etymology From chigoe, likely from a Cariban language term such as Kari'na siko (“chigoe”) (early recorded variant chico), from Proto-Cariban *tikô.
1
A chigoe (Tunga penetrans), a kind of flea found in tropical climates.
2
A harvest mite (Trombiculidae spp.), a very small, red mite endemic to the Midwestern and Southeastern US, the infestation of which causes intense itching.
Dr. Lareau, an emergency medicine physician at Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital in Virginia, had seen these marks once or twice before on patients. She knew what had caused them. They were from chiggers, a species of tiny, reddish-brown mites able to leave bites that remain itchy for days or weeks.2024 July 25, Carly Stern, “It’s Chigger Season. Here’s What to Know About the Pests.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
—He's not black, Stacia Jacobs who smelled like pee said. — He's yellow and black. He's a chigger. Do you know what a chigger is? It's a chink and a nigger.2007, James Boice, MVP: A Novel, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 37: