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
Ancestry of “quacksalver”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | quacsalven | — |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | salve | ointment, salve |
| 3 | Old Dutch | salva | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | salbu | salve, ointment |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | salbō | salve, ointment |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | solp-éh₂ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | selp- | fat, oil |
Words derived from “quacksalver”