ich

1. 1
   noununcountable

   A common disease of freshwater fish that leaves small white spots on the skin and gills, or the single-celled parasite, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, that causes it.

   Like a contagious skin rash sweeping through a crowded dormitory.

   Crowded, stressed fish are especially vulnerable to ich during sudden temperature swings.

   An outbreak of ich swept through the hatchery's holding tanks within days.

   UsageFish have ich or suffer an outbreak of ich.

   Note

   A clipping of ichthyophthiriasis, and the form even specialists reach for: Edward J. Noga's Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment (1996) calls ich one of the most common diseases of freshwater fish. Aquarium keepers also speak of marine ich, a similar white-spot disease of saltwater fish caused by a different parasite, Cryptocaryon irritans. Despite the shared spelling, it has nothing to do with the old pronoun. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • The disease name ich is a clipping of ichthyophthiriasis. en.wiktionary.org
   • Edward J. Noga wrote Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment, which describes ich as one of the most common diseases of freshwater fish. en.wiktionary.org
   • The book was first published in 1996. onlinelibrary.wiley.com
   • Marine ich is a similar white-spot disease of saltwater fish caused by Cryptocaryon irritans, a different parasite. ask.ifas.ufl.edu
   • The disease name is etymologically unrelated to the old pronoun: the pronoun has Germanic ancestry, whereas the disease name is a clipping of ichthyophthiriasis. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   pronounobsolete

   An obsolete first-person singular pronoun, equivalent to the modern "I."

   With cap and knee, ich will serve thee, what should ich more declare.

   1568, Thomas Howell, Arbor of Amitie

   Kissyng and lying ich see is all one: And chave no mony, chul tell true therfore.

   1578, George Whetstone, The right

   Note

   The older shape of I, carried down from Old English iċ and Proto-Germanic *ik. It survives through the sixteenth century: John Skelton's alewife Elynour Rummyng says "Ich am not cast away", and George Whetstone's Promos and Cassandra (1578) sets it beside chave and chul, where the pronoun has worn down to a ch- fused onto the verb: "I have," "I will." Anyone reviving it for period dialogue should keep those contractions in mind. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 8 facts

   • The pronoun ich is an older form of I, inherited from Old English iċ and ultimately Proto-Germanic *ik. en.wiktionary.org
   • Ich remained in use during the sixteenth century. en.wiktionary.org
   • In John Skelton's poem, the alewife Elynour Rummyng says the exact words 'Ich am not cast away'. otago.ac.nz
   • George Whetstone wrote Promos and Cassandra, first printed in 1578. emed.folger.edu
   • Promos and Cassandra places ich beside chave and chul. en.wiktionary.org
   • Ch- is a reduced form of ich attached to the following verb. en.wiktionary.org
   • Chave means I have. en.wiktionary.org
   • Chul represents I will. en.wiktionary.org

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