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
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 kissing or sucking skin, usually on the 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.

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).