dropsy

[drop-see]

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.

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

Related formsdrop·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

Historical Examples of dropsy

And from dropsy to the deprivation of life into which your folly will bring you.
The Imaginary Invalid
Molire
Extraordinary cure by Dr. Cullingworth of a case of dropsy in Bradfield, 1881.
The Stark Munro Letters
J. Stark Munro
A certificate was made out that the last man had died of "dropsy."
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine
And in other cases, asthma, dropsy, and epilepsy are caused.
Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I
Herbert Spencer
Also the Woman with the Dropsy, which is accounted his chef-d'œuvre.
Six Centuries of Painting
Randall Davies

British Dictionary definitions for dropsy

dropsy

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 Formsdropsical (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

Word Origin and History for dropsy

late 13c., a shortening of Middle English ydropsy, from Old French idropsie, from Latin hydropsis, from Greek hydrops (genitive hydropos) "dropsy," from hydor "water" (see water (n.1)).

dropsy in Medicine

dropsy

[drŏp′sē]

n.

Edema. No longer in technical use.