quacksalver

American  

[kwak-sal-ver] / ˈkwækˌsæl vər /

noun

1. a quack doctor.

2. a charlatan.

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quacksalver British  

/ ˈkwækˌsælvə /

noun

1. an archaic word for quack 2

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Etymology

Origin of quacksalver

1570–80; < early Dutch (now kwakzalver ); see quack ¹, salve ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

To Johnson, a flatterer was a "claw-back"; a bad doctor, a "quacksalver."

From Time Magazine Archive

The answers were given with a solemn self-complacency, not unmixed with that shrewdness which was an essential attribute to the success of the ancient quacksalver.

From Rob of the Bowl, Vol. I (of 2) A Legend of St. Inigoe's by Kennedy, John P.

I have done ill to unbosom myself so far to this poisonous quacksalver.

From The Fair Maid of Perth Or, St. Valentine's Day by Scott, Walter, Sir

"In other words," said Tressilian, "you were Jack Pudding to a quacksalver."

From Kenilworth by Scott, Walter, Sir

The bolster wrapped round his nose and the two ends kissed behind his head, and his forehead resounded, and had he been Goliath, or Julius Caesar, instead of an old quacksalver, down he had gone.

From The Cloister and the Hearth by Reade, Charles