Where does “quackery” come from?
Quackery derives from English quack, from Middle Dutch kwaksalver, combining quacken with Latin -arius, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -yós.
quackery (English): The practice of fraudulent medicine, usually in...
Definitions
- The practice of fraudulent medicine, usually in...
Ancestry of “quackery”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | quack | The sound made by a duck; To make a noise like a... |
| 2 | English | quacksalver | One falsely claiming to possess medical or other... |
| 3 | Dutch | quacksalver | a hawker of salve |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | quacsalven | — |
| 5 | Middle Dutch | salve | ointment, salve |
| 6 | Old Dutch | salva | salve, ointment |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | salbu | salve, ointment |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | salbō | salve, ointment |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | solp-éh₂ | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | selp- | fat, oil |