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

• dropsical
  adjective
• dropsied
  adjective
• dropsically
  adverb

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, drop′si, n. an unnatural collection of water in any part of the body.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Dropsy of the ovary is another incysted dropsy, which seldom admits of cure.

From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus

Demons of destruction hover over them in the characters of Poverty, Apoplexy, Madness, Dropsy, and Gout.

From The Dance of Death Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans Holbein by Douce, Francis

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 chest, 217. treatment of, 217. of the uterus, 345. of the perinæum, 289. treatment of, 291.

From The Dog by Dinks