dropsy

American  

[drop-see] / ˈdrɒp si /

noun

1. (formerly) edema.

2. an infectious disease of fishes, characterized by a swollen, spongelike body and protruding scales, caused by a variety of the bacterium Pseudomonas punctata.

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dropsy British  

/ ˈdrɒpsɪ, ˈdrɒpsɪkəl /

noun

1. pathol a condition characterized by an accumulation of watery fluid in the tissues or in a body cavity

2. slang a tip or bribe

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dropsically
  adverb
• dropsical
  adjective
• dropsied
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dropsy

1250–1300; Middle English drop ( e ) sie, aphetic variant of ydropesie < Old French < Medieval Latin ( h ) ydrōpisīa, equivalent to Latin hydrōpis ( is ) (< Greek hydrōpi-, stem of hýdrōps dropsy ( hydr- hydr- ¹ + -ōpsi- < ?) + -sis -sis ) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

Dropsy on the chest was found to have declared itself; and in two days, despite every care and skill, the doctor said Beethoven must die.

From Music and Some Highly Musical People by Trotter, James M.

The Prince John-Christian is tall and extremely corpulent, insomuch that 'tis well if he has not the Dropsy.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Dropsy of the uterus I have encountered, though, as no teacher or work speaks of such an affection in the dog, it was some time before I was able to recognise the disease.

From The Dog by Dinks

Also the Woman with the Dropsy, which is accounted his chef-d'œuvre.

From Six Centuries of Painting by Davies, Randall

Dropsy of the subcutaneous cellular tissue; an effusion of serum into the cellular substance, occasioning a soft, pale, inelastic swelling of the skin.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah