Where does “quack” come from?

Quack comes from Middle Dutch kwaksalver, which is derived from Middle Dutch quacken.

quack (English): The sound made by a duck; To make a noise like a...

Definitions

  1. The sound made by a duck; To make a noise like a...

Ancestry of “quack”, step by step

quack traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English quacksalver

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishquacksalverOne falsely claiming to possess medical or other...
2Dutchquacksalvera hawker of salve
3Middle Dutchquacsalven—
4Middle Dutchsalveointment, salve
5Old Dutchsalvasalve, ointment
6Proto-West Germanicsalbusalve, ointment
7Proto-Germanicsalbōsalve, ointment
8Proto-Indo-Europeansolp-éh₂—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanselp-fat, oil

via Middle English quacken

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishquacken—
2Middle Dutchquackento croak, quack; to brag, boast; to croak
3Old Dutchkwakento croak, quack

Words derived from “quack”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European selp- →