Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “quacklike” come from?

quacklike (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.

quacklike (English): Resembling or characteristic of a quack

Definitions

  1. Resembling or characteristic of a quack

Ancestry of “quacklike”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishquackThe sound made by a duck; To make a noise like a...
2EnglishquacksalverOne falsely claiming to possess medical or other...
3Dutchquacksalvera hawker of salve
4Middle Dutchquacsalven—
5Middle Dutchsalveointment, salve
6Old Dutchsalva—
7Proto-West Germanicsalbusalve, ointment
8Proto-Germanicsalbōsalve, ointment
9Proto-Indo-Europeansolp-éh₂—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanselp-fat, oil
Every word from Proto-Indo-European selp- →