dropsy

[ drop-see ]

/ ˈdrɒp si /

noun

(formerly) edema.

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

Words nearby dropsy

droppings, drops, dropsical, dropsley, dropsonde, dropsy, dropt, dropwort, drosera, droshky, drosky

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 -y³

OTHER WORDS FROM dropsy

drop·sied

[drop-seed] /ˈdrɒp sid/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dropsy

Feyther's deid o' his dropsy, and Alec and me's awa' to Canady this day fortnight.
The Judge|Rebecca West
Primmie's suspicions of dropsy, or some equally distressing ailment, revived.
Galusha the Magnificent|Joseph C. Lincoln
In this kind of dropsy I suspect the digitalis has less or no effect; as it particularly increases the absorption from the lungs.
Zoonomia, Vol. II|Erasmus Darwin
Does this mean that dropsy is more common in the rural communities than in the cities?
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various

He was swollen all over his little body, so that the doctors said it was a dropsy.
The Fifth Queen Crowned|Ford Madox Ford

British Dictionary definitions for dropsy

dropsy

/ (ˈdrɒpsɪ) /

noun

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

slang a tip or bribe

Derived forms of dropsy

dropsical (ˈdrɒpsɪkəl) or dropsied, adjectivedropsically, adverb

Word Origin for dropsy

C13: shortened from ydropesie, from Latin hydrōpisis, from Greek hudrōps, from hudōr water

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for dropsy

dropsy

[ drŏp′sē ]

n.

Edema. No longer in technical use.