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chinch (n.)
"bedbug," 1620s, from Spanish/Portuguese chinche (diminutive chinchilla) "bug," from Latin cimicem (nominative cimex) "bedbug," a word of uncertain origin. Related: Chinch-bug.
also from 1620s
Entries linking to chinch
chinchilla (n.)
small South American rodent, 1590s, from Spanish, literally "little bug," diminutive of chinche (see chinch); perhaps a folk-etymology alteration of a word from Quechua (Inca) or Aymara.
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Trends of chinch
adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.
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updated on November 13, 2017
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