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quacksalver

[ kwak-sal-ver ]
/ ˈkwækˌsæl vər /
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quacksalver ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a quack doctor.
a charlatan.

RELATED WORDS

mountebank, faker, fake, sharp, whip, counterfeit, actor, cheat, counterfeiter, sham, humbug, phony, bum, pretender, fraud, impostor, pseudo, put-on, charlatan, shark

Nearby words

  1. quaalude,
  2. quack,
  3. quack grass,
  4. quacker,
  5. quackery,
  6. quaco,
  7. quad,
  8. quad bike,
  9. quad cities,
  10. quad left

Origin of quacksalver

1570–80; < early Dutch (now kwakzalver); see quack1, salve1, -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for quacksalver

quacksalver

/ (ˈkwækˌsælvə) /

noun

an archaic word for quack 2

Word Origin for quacksalver

C16: from Dutch, from quack, apparently: to hawk + salf salve 1
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 quacksalver

quacksalver

n.

1570s; see quack (n.1).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper