quinsy
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quinsy
1300–50; Middle English quin ( e ) sie < Medieval Latin quinancia, Late Latin cynanchē < Greek kynánchē sore throat
Vocabulary lists containing quinsy
Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Elle had developed quinsy, external - a complication of tonsillitis where a pus-filled abscess grows between your tonsils and the wall of your throat - which turned into sepsis, external.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
S. C.'s Fort Moultrie where he died after three months, officially of "a quinsy."
From Time Magazine Archive
The boy's voice "is a weak bass, thick, husky, mumbling and comparable to the enunciation of a patient with an acute quinsy."
From Time Magazine Archive
At the doctor's, he is likely to complain of "a poisoning, a noseache, an eye-pain or quinsy," followed by a plaintive "Must I undress?"
From Time Magazine Archive
But it was there originally, for quinsy is the Greek κυνάγχη, dog-throttling.
From Lectures on The Science of Language by Max Müller
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