Where does “quacksalver” come from?

quacksalver (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch quacsalven, from Middle Dutch salve, from Old Dutch salva, from Proto-West Germanic salbu, from Proto-Germanic salbō, from Proto-Indo-European solp-éh₂, from Proto-Indo-European selp- — fat, oil.

quacksalver (Dutch): a hawker of salve

Definitions

  1. a hawker of salve

Ancestry of “quacksalver”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchquacsalven—
2Middle Dutchsalveointment, salve
3Old Dutchsalvasalve, ointment
4Proto-West Germanicsalbusalve, ointment
5Proto-Germanicsalbōsalve, ointment
6Proto-Indo-Europeansolp-éh₂—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanselp-fat, oil

Words derived from “quacksalver”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European selp- →