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quacksalver

noun
/ˈkwæksælvə/UK/ˈkwæksælvɚ/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle Dutch quacsalven Dutch quacksalverbor. English quacksalver From Dutch quacksalver (“a hawker of salve”) (now spelt kwakzalver), derived from Middle Dutch quacsalven (noun or verb), from kwaken (“to boast, to brag; to croak”) + salve (“ointment, salve”) (modern Dutch zalf) + -er (agent noun suffix).

  1. derived from quacsalven
  2. borrowed from quacksalver

Definitions

  1. One falsely claiming to possess medical or other skills, especially one who dispenses…

    One falsely claiming to possess medical or other skills, especially one who dispenses potions, ointments, etc., supposedly having curative powers; a quack.

    • [F]ree me from thoſe outward encumbrances of cares that over-whelme mee, and let this paraliticke quackſalver fill ten thouſand tunnes with ſcelerata ſinapis, ſhrewiſh ſnappiſh muſtard, as Plautus calls it, […]

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for quacksalver. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA