quinsy

[ kwin-zee ]

/ ˈkwɪn zi /

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noun Pathology.

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

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Origin of quinsy

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

OTHER WORDS FROM quinsy

quinsied, adjective

Words nearby quinsy

quinquennial, quinquennium, quinquepartite, quinquereme, quinquevalent, quinsy, quint, quinta, quintain, quintal, quintan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use quinsy in a sentence

I prevailed by undertaking to do any mortal thing he liked, as long as he lay where he was with that quinsy.
Witching Hill|E. W. Hornung
Quinsy, kwin′zi, n. an inflammatory affection of the substance of the tonsils, attended when fully developed by suppuration.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various
Witty men said that the orator had not caught a sore throat, but a silver quinsy during the night.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume IV|Aubrey Stewart
My quinsy has altogether left me, and my blood flows strong after the rest.
The Black Douglas|S. R. Crockett

At this extraordinary sight the bishop was seized with a fit of laughter, which burst the quinsy, and saved his life.
Scotch Wit and Humor|W. H. (Walter Henry) Howe

British Dictionary definitions for quinsy

quinsy

/ (ˈkwɪnzɪ) /

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