"Scritch"

[Mark A. Mandel]

In our family this is absolutely everyday for affectionate "scratching" of a
person or animal. We use "scratch [a person or animal]" only for more
forceful scratching, to relieve an itch (one's own or another's) or with the
effect of causing harm or pain.

The substitution of a high vowel for a low one is completely in line with
historical and universal patterns of ideophonic diminutive formation.

--m a m

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org