Mid 16th century; earliest use found in Hall's Vnion: Richard III. From scritch<br>Middle English; earliest use found in The Owl and the Nightingale. Imitative<br>1920s; earliest use found in The Charleston Gazette. Probably a variant or alteration of scratch, probably after scritch and perhaps also partly after itch<br>late 19th century; earliest use found in Harper's Young People. Probably a variant of scratch, perhaps arising from vowel alternation in a reduplicated form, or perhaps immediately after scritchy.