quinsy

[kwin-zee]

noun Pathology.

a suppurative inflammation of the tonsils; suppurative tonsillitis; tonsillar abscess.

Origin of quinsy

1300–50; Middle English quin(e)sie < Medieval Latin quinancia, Late Latin cynanchē < Greek kynánchē sore throat

Related formsquin·sied, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for quinsy

Historical Examples of quinsy

Uncle Jake is subject to the quinsy and he was on the verge of it.
Watch Yourself Go By
Al. G. Field
Edred, the successor of Edmund I of England, died of quinsy.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology
Joel Munsell
It is stimulant, diaphoretic, and expectorant; is used in quinsy, and by the native doctors of Travancore in catarrhal affections.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
Alas, apart from her tendency to quinsy, it was I who was found wanting.
Memoirs of a Midget
Walter de la Mare
My mother feared that quinsy was catching; and Miss Perry had no successor.
Memoirs of a Midget
Walter de la Mare

British Dictionary definitions for quinsy

quinsy

noun

inflammation of the tonsils and surrounding tissues with the formation of abscesses

Word Origin for quinsy

C14: via Old French and Medieval Latin from Greek kunankhē, from kuōn dog + ankhein to strangle

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 quinsy

"severe sore throat," late 14c., qwinaci, from Old French quinancie (Modern French esquinacie), from Late Latin cynanche, from Greek kynankhe "sore throat," also "dog collar," literally "dog-choking," from kyon (genitive kynos) "dog" (see canine) + ankhein "to strangle," cognate with Latin angere (see anger (v.)).

Medicine definitions for quinsy

quinsy

[kwĭn′zē]

n.

peritonsillar abscess