Where does “quackish” come from?
quackish (English) comes from English quack, from English quacksalver, from Dutch quacksalver, from Middle Dutch quacsalven, from Middle Dutch salve, from Old Dutch salva, from Proto-West Germanic salbu, from Proto-Germanic salbō — fat, oil.
quackish (English): Like a quack (fraudulent doctor), or characteristic of quackery
Definitions
- Like a quack (fraudulent doctor), or characteristic of quackery
Ancestry of “quackish”, step by step
quackish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English quack
| 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 |
via English ish
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ish | Pronunciation spelling of is; somewhat,... |
| 2 | English | -ish | Typical of, similar to, being like; Somewhat,... |
| 3 | Middle English | -ish | Alternative form of -yssh |
| 4 | Old English | -isċ | -ish |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -isk | Creates adjectives from nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -iskaz | Forms adjectives from nouns with the sense of... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -iskos | Characteristic of, typical of, pertaining to |