'lice-ridden' originates from the combination of 'lice,' referring to small parasitic insects, and 'ridden,' a past participle of 'ride,' used in a figurative sense to mean 'infested with.'

'lice-ridden' changed from the Old English word 'lūs' for 'lice' and the Middle English 'ridden,' eventually becoming the modern English word 'lice-ridden.'

Initially, it meant 'infested with lice,' and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.