† quackn.¹

Forms: Middle English quak, Middle English quake, Middle English quakke, Middle English quat (transmission error), 1500s quacke.

Origin: Probably an imitative or expressive formation.

Etymology: Probably imitative. Perhaps compare German regional (Low German) quakken to moan, groan ( Bremisches Wörterbuch (1767); apparently not recorded in other dictionaries of Low German), and perhaps also quack v.¹, quack int. Compare queck int.², queck n., and later quackle v.¹

Obsolete. rare.

A state of hoarseness or croakiness in the throat. on the quack: afflicted by hoarseness.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > [noun] > noisy breathing > hoarseness or croaking in throat

quackc1390

bur1393

raucedity1599

rattling1779

frog in the throat1847

stridor1876

c1390 G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale 4152 He yexeth and he speketh thurgh the nose, As he were on the quake [v.rr. quakke, quak, quat] or on the pose.

1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. ii. xvi. f. 91/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I The smoke..was reputed a farre better medicine to keepe the goodman and his family from the quacke or pose.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

quackn.²

Brit.

/kwak/, U.S.

/kwæk/

Forms: 1600s quacke, 1600s quaik, 1600s– quack.

Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: quacksalver n.

Etymology: Shortened < quacksalver n.

colloquial.

a. A person who dishonestly claims to have medical or surgical skill, or who advertises false or fake remedies; a medical impostor. Cf. charlatan n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > ignorant or untrained > charlatan

quacksalver1579

medicastra1602

water-caster1603

quack1638

medicaster1639

amethodist1654

charlatana1680

quackster1709

crocus1785

Sangrado1812

sangrador1832

1638 F. Quarles Hieroglyphikes iv. Epigr. 17 Quack, leave thy trade; Thy Dealings are not right, Thou tak'st our weighty gold, to give us light.

1683 W. Kennett tr. Erasmus Witt against Wisdom 47 All these hard named fellows cannot make So great a figure as a single Quacke.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 36 Running after Quacks, and Mountebanks..for Medicines and Remedies.

1783 G. Crabbe Village i. 19 A potent quack, long vers'd in human ills, Who first insults the victim whom he kills.

1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. iv. v. 240 Who has once been under the hands of a quack, is ever after dabbling in drugs.

1880 L. S. Beale Slight Ailm. 22 Persons would be easily influenced by what the quack says.

1927 A. Conan Doyle Case-bk. Sherlock Holmes 299 He has been sent on by the Yard. Just as medical men occasionally send their incurables to a quack.

1989 S. Fulder Handbk. Complementary Med. (rev. ed.) iv. 63 The patient is given protection from quacks and charlatans, and protection from avaricious or unethical activities.

2003 R. Dawkins Devil's Chaplain iv. 164 ‘Alternative’ medicine which, while he was dying, was almost daily thrust his way by quacks or their well-meaning dupes.

b. Originally Australian and New Zealand. A doctor (with no implication that he or she is unqualified); a physician, a surgeon; (Military) a medical officer.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun]

physician?c1225

leecherc1374

practiserc1387

doctora1400

flesh-leecha1400

leechman14..

mediciner?a1425

miria1425

M.D.1425

medicine?c1450

practitioner?1543

minister1559

doc1563

artist1565

medicus1570

medicianera1578

Aesculapius1586

Dra1593

pisspot1592

medician1597

physicianer1598

medicinary1599

pisspot1600

velvet-cap1602

healer1611

Galena1616

physiner1616

clyster1621

clyster-pipe1622

hakim1623

medic1625

practicant1630

medico1647

physicker1649

physicster1689

Aesculapian1694

nim-gimmer1699

pill-monger1706

medical man1784

meester1812

medical1823

pill-gilder1824

therapeutist1830

pill1835

pill roller1843

med1851

pill-peddler1855

therapeutic1858

squirt1859

medicine man1866

pill pusher1879

therapist1886

doser1888

internist1894

pill-shooter1911

whitecoat1911

quack1919

vet1925

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > military physician

surgeon1591

medical officer1916

M.O.1916

quack1919

prick farrier1961

1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 40 Quack, a medical officer.

c1926 ‘Mixer’ Transport Workers' Song Bk. 43 And ask me if I want a ‘sub’. For to take me to the ‘quack’.

1943 Coast to Coast 1942 29 Might be he lose his leg if we don't get him across right away to the quack.

1960 J. Iggulden Storms of Summer 169 I'll get the quack at the Bush Hospital to have a look at it in the morning.

1976 D. Ireland Glass Canoe 136 I go along to this quack and he says Get back to the surf and get some green vegetables into you.

1995 Select Mar. 98/2 So it was back to the quack, only to get prescribed Prozac.

2. In extended use: any person who dishonestly claims to have special knowledge or skill in any field; = charlatan n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > a charlatan, fraudster > [noun]

shondc725

faitoura1340

fob1393

trumper?c1450

feature14..

chuffera1500

prowler1519

truphane1568

cozener1575

cogger1580

pretender1583

impostor1586

mountebank1589

sycophant?1589

foolmonger1593

affronter1598

assumer1600

knight (also lord, man, etc.) of gingerbread1602

pettifogger1602

budgeter1603

quacksalver1611

empiric1614

putter-off?1615

quack1638

stafador1638

saltimbanco1646

adventurer1648

fourbe1668

shammer1677

imposer1678

charlatana1680

sham1683

cheat1687

hocus1692

gull1699

shamster1716

coal-blower1720

humbugger1752

gagger1781

fudge1794

humbug1804

potwalloper1820

twister1834

jackleg1844

fraud1850

bunyip1852

empiricist1854

Bayswater Captain1880

bluffer1888

putter-down1906

quandong1939

1638 J. Ford Fancies iii. 32 There a' sits..The very quaik of fashions.

1680 R. Mansell Exact & True Narr. Late Popish Intrigue Addr. b j b These Theologico-Political Quacks.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 195. ⁋2 Rules for knowing the Quacks in both Professions [sc. Law and Physic].

1782 W. Cowper Progress of Error in Poems 474 Church quacks, with passions under no command, Who fill the world with doctrines contraband.

1831 Athenæum 22 Jan. 53/1 Quacks in literature..subtilize into essence, or reduce into consommé.

1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. v. 249 There is scarcely an instance of a lord rector having been a clamorous quack or a canting fanatic.

1938 Amer. Home Jan. 60/2 I have found that the [furniture] restorer who claims to have secret processes is invariably a quack.

1994 Sunday Times 6 Mar. (Business section) iii. 2/6 Some quacks have calculated that if the $60 billion..were spent on US-made goods it would create an extra 2m American jobs.

Compounds

C1. General attributive, with sense ‘of or belonging to a quack’, as quack advertisement, quack bill, quack cure, quack medicine, etc.; also appositive, with sense ‘that is a quack’, as quack doctor, quack physician, etc.

ΚΠ

1670 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1870) I. 583 The Infallible Mountebank or Quack Doctor.

1695 W. W. Novum Lumen Chirurgicum Extinctum (title page) The Base Imposture of his Quack Medicines.

1699 E. Ward London Spy I. iii. 7 We are as equally able to tell the truth of the Story,as a Quack-astrologer is by the assistance of the Signs and Planets.

a1704 T. Brown Table-talk in Wks. (1707) I. ii. 38 A Chymist..put out a Quack-Bill.

1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 65 Mr. Bolton..now a quack-Physitian in London.

1749 L. Pilkington Mem. (new ed.) II. xii I disregard the Criticks Frown, And all the Quack-Bards of the Town.

1751 W. Warburton in Wks. of Alexander Pope IV. 29 The bills of Quack-Doctors and Quack-Booksellers being usually pasted together on the same posts.

1785 European Mag. 8 469 A dialogue between the doctor and his clerk satirizes quack advertisements.

1855 R. Browning Bishop Blougram 366 Quack-nonsense about crowns, And..The vague idea of setting things to rights.

1905 A. Bennett Tales of Five Towns i. 94 You see roundabouts, swings,..atrocity booths, quack dentists.

1965 ‘W. Trevor’ Boarding-house vii. 86 Potatoes on string, badger's oil, rhubarb—there's not a quack cure I haven't heard of.

2003 S. Brown Free Gift Inside! 148 He was a generous giver to medical causes, yet he fell for every quack medicine doing the rounds.

C2. Objective and instrumental.

† quack-adoring adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1875 A. Helps Social Pressure ii. 26 A puffing, advertising, quack-adoring world.

ˈquack-ridden adj.

ΚΠ

1839 T. Carlyle Chartism v. 43 Europe lay pining,..quack-ridden, hag-ridden.

1912 Times 13 June 10/5 The missionary who brings to the relief of quack-ridden millions the latest results of medical and surgical skill.

2004 Village Voice (Nexis) 14 Dec. 72 The quack-ridden quest for a miracle cure.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

quackn.⁴

Brit.

/kwak/, U.S.

/kwæk/

Forms: 1800s quock (U.S. regional (Indiana)), 1800s– quack.

Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: quick n.²

Etymology: Variant of quick n.²

Chiefly North American.

In full quackgrass. Couch grass, Elymus repens. Cf. quick n.²Occasionally applied to other kinds of grass (see quot. 1840).

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > weed > grasses perceived as weeds > [noun] > couch-grass

quitcheOE

quicka1400

quicken?c1425

couch-grass1578

twitch1588

twitch grass1588

dog grass1597

sea dog's grass1597

quick grass1617

couch1637

wheat-grass1668

scutch1686

quickenings1762

quicken grass1771

spear-grass1784

squitch1785

witchgrass1790

felt1794

dog-wheat1796

creeping wheat1819

quack1822

switch-grass1840

couch-wheat1884

1822 A. Eaton Man. Bot. (ed. 3) ii. 494 Triticum..repens..wheat-grass, couch-grass, quack-grass... Very troublesome in fertile soil.

1840 J. Buel Farmer's Compan. (ed. 2) 232 Many species of the festuca and agrostis genera, particularly the A. stricta, of which our quack or witch-grass is a variety.

1884 G. Vasey Agric. Grasses U.S. 108 Quack grass... There has been a good deal of discussion relative to this grass, some pronouncing it one of the vilest of weeds.

1930 Times Educ. Suppl. 31 May 248/1 It [sc. couchgrass] has a good many names: squitch, scutch, quack..are all in use.

1963 J. Cheever Jrnls. (1991) 178 A lawn choked with quack grass.

1993 Community Press 7 Dec. b3/1 The only post-emergent chemical developed for controlling annual grasses and quackgrass in corn.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

quackv.¹

Brit.

/kwak/, U.S.

/kwæk/

Forms: 1500s– quack, 1600s quacke, 1700s quaake, 1800s quak, 1800s– quaak (English regional (Cheshire)); Scottish 1800s whack, 1800s– quack, 1900s– hwak (Shetland).

Origin: An imitative or expressive formation.

Etymology: Imitative. Compare Middle Dutch quacken , quāken (Dutch kwaken ), Middle Low German quacken , quāken , Middle High German quacken , quaken (early modern German quacken , German quaken ), Swedish kvacka , Danish kvakke to quack, to croak, and also classical Latin coaxāre to croak (see coaxation n.), Russian kvakat' to quack, to croak. Compare also Old Icelandic kvaka to twitter (of birds). Compare quack int. Compare also earlier queck v.¹ and quackling adj., and later quackle v.², quake v.², quawk v. Perhaps compare also quack n.¹

a. intransitive. Of a duck: to make its characteristic harsh sound. Also transitive with cognate object.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [verb (intransitive)] > quack

quecka1325

quack1570

quackle1622

quake1829

quank1845

1570 [implied in: B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome iv. f. 48 Some hatch yong fooles as hennes do egges,..or as the quacking ducke. (at quacking adj.¹)].

1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man v. 416 The dogges barkt, the duckes quackt, the cockes crowed, and the Bees ranne out of the hyue.

1604 ‘W. Terilo’ Piece of Friar Bacons Prophesie sig. B2^v The Henne, the Goose, the Ducke, Might cackle, creake, and quacke.

1617 J. Minsheu Ἡγεμὼν είς τὰς γλῶσσας: Ductor in Linguas To Quacke as a ducke,..coaxare.

1708 W. King Art of Cookery 4 Wild-ducks quack where Grasshoppers did sing.

1770 ‘Orphanotrophian’ Fortunate Blue-coat Boy II. xiii. 210 The turkey erected his feathers, and reddened his gills; the duck quacked, and the cock crowed.

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. x. 108 There were thirteen ducks..and..they all quacked very movingly.

1893 Earl of Dunmore Pamirs I. 185 They [sc. some ducks]..quacked the quack of derision at us.

1989 V. Glendinning Grown-ups iii. 31 The ducks quacked at Charlotte from the lake.

2004 Independent (Compact ed.) 17 Feb. (Review section) 2/3 If it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck..in my book.

†b. intransitive. Of another animal or bird: to croak. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > larger song birds > family Corvidae (crow) > [verb (intransitive)] > croak (of raven)

quack1727

plunk1808

the world > animals > amphibians > order Anura or Salienta (frogs and toads) > [verb (intransitive)] > croak

quest1608

quack1892

1727 A. Boyer Dictionaire Royal (rev. ed.) (at cited word) To Quack (or to croak, as Ravens do), croasser.

1848 G. Barley Thomas à Becket ii. ii. 30 Speckle-black Toad and freckle-green Frog, Hopping together from quag to bog..Croakle goes first and Quackle goes after.]

1892 Ld. Tennyson Foresters ii. ii. 97 My frog that used to quack When I vaulted on his back.

2. intransitive. To make a harsh sound like that of a duck; esp. (of a person) to talk loudly or foolishly. Also with on.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > sounds like animal or bird sounds > [verb (intransitive)] > quack

quacka1624

quackle1837

a1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 136 An example to all busie-bodyes, that will dare..to quacke against their betters.

1639 G. Rivers Heroinæ 143 But oh! whilst I am quacking, my Aretaphila is fled.

1865 C. T. Brooks tr. J. P. F. Richter Hesperus I. xix. 362 Parson and schoolmaster and pedagogic frog-spawn were quacking and croaking round a deaf corpse,—all which many name, more concisely, a dirge.

1894 H. Caine Manxman 265 He puffed till his lips quacked, though the pipe gave out no smoke.

1937 M. Mitchell Let. 4 Sept. in Gone with the Wind Lett. (1986) 167 That bewhiskered old wretch who..couldn't bear to have a house full of women gabbling and quacking about his activities.

1970 N. Bawden Birds on Trees ii. 28 While her mother's voice quacked on, she licked her finger and smoothed her eyebrows.

1993 D. A. Smith In Cube ii. 24 The..hidden speaker quacked.

2006 The Word July 79/2 That lovely James Taylor song you've been quacking on about.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

quackv.²

Brit.

/kwak/, U.S.

/kwæk/

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: quack n.²

Etymology: < quack n.²

†1. transitive. To advertise, palm off, or sell like a quack cure; to promote or boost (a person or thing) with fraudulent or exaggerated claims. Also with forth. Obsolete. †to quack titles: to invent new titles for old books in order to promote their sale (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > advertising > types or methods of advertising > [verb (transitive)] > advertise ostentatiously or extravagantly

quack1646

puff1734

Barnumize1851

boom1879

ballyhoo1911

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > forgery, falsification > forge, falsify [verb (transitive)] > material things

counterfeitc1386

marshalc1450

falsify1601

water1646

to quack titles1715

distress1943

1646 J. Cleveland Char. London-Diurnall 41 Could I (in Sir Emp'ricks tone) Speake Pills in phrase, and quack destruction.

1649 Mercurius Pragmaticus Charls II No. 5. sig. E4 Doctor Achon (or Ignoramus) Gourdon the Phisitian is voted Mint-master to quack coyn cum Privilegio.

1651 N. Biggs Matæotechnia Medicinæ Praxeωs Pref. 9 To be Quacked forth in Bartholmew-Fayr.

1715 S. Centlivre Gotham Election i. ii. 40 My third Son is a Bookseller..he has an admirable Knack at quacking Titles.

1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Gill ale A notorious Imposition, which is quack'd upon the World..to be a great Restorative and Curer of Consumptions.

1830 Examiner 610/2 The Politician must be quacked, paragraphed,..and coteried into notoriety.

1834 T. Hood Wks. III. 6 We know of old how medicines were backed, But true Religion needs not to be quacked By an Un-merry Andrew!

2. intransitive. To act as a quack or charlatan; spec. (a) to pretend to have medical skill or knowledge, to dabble ignorantly in medicine; (b) to talk pretentiously and ignorantly, like a quack (formerly also with †of). Now rare.In sense 2(b) sometimes difficult to distinguish from quack v.¹ 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > art or science of medicine > practice of healing art > practise the healing art [verb (intransitive)] > ignorantly

quack1650

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > insincere or pretentious talk > talk insincerely [verb (intransitive)]

vapour1629

cant1648

quack1650

gas1849

bull1850

to shoot the bull1922

blah1924

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > act fraudulently, cheat [verb (intransitive)] > talk like a quack

quack1650

1650 T. Venner Via Recta 362 In quacking for Patients he is so kind and free of his service.

1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 20 To Quack of Universal Cures.

1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 22 A virtuoso, able To Smatter, Quack, and Cant, and Dabble.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 36 Ignorant Fellows; quacking and tampering in Physick.

1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. Pref. p. xxv Enlighten then, their understandings..and who then, will venture to quack or be quacked?

1840 N. Hawthorne Haunted Quack 65 I accordingly resolved to commence quacking—I mean practising—on my own account.

1845 B. R. Hall Something for Every Body viii. 36 I have on divers occasions quacked a little myself—but alas! my disease was too real, and would not stay cured.

1876 G. Meredith Beauchamp's Career III. ii. 29 A wiseacre who went quacking about the county, expecting to upset the order of things.

1994 W. P. Root Trace Elem. Recurring Kingdom 75 He is least a quack when he isn't quacking.

3. transitive (frequently reflexive). To treat in the manner of a quack; to administer quack medicines to; (also) to seek to remedy by ignorant treatment. Also with up.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > [verb (transitive)] > ignorantly

tamper1655

quack1746

1746 H. Walpole Let. 7 Feb. in Lett. to H. Mann (1833) II. 124 If he has any skill in quacking madmen, his art may perhaps be of service now.

1757 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances I. lxii. 108 I am..as ‘hoarse as Bondage’. I shall therefore stay here To-night, and quack myself.

1778 Sketches for Tabernacle Frames 17 For quacking Souls you cannot be attack'd.

1820 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 195 I tried with bricks, baskets and everything..to quack up one of them [sc. defective chimneys].

1821 J. Bentham Elements Art of Packing 144 Epitaph on a Valetudinarian, who quacked himself to death.

a1876 H. Martineau Autobiogr. (1877) I. 147 The less its condition is quacked..the better for the mind's health.

1925 Scribner's Mag. Oct. 385/1 Time..has not obliterated the love of being quacked.

1988 Insight Autumn 69/2 The Colonel..quacked himself up with tincture of bark, sal volatile and spirits of lavender.

Derivatives

† quacked adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

a1876 H. Martineau Autobiogr. (1877) II. 461 Such exhortations are too low for even the..quacked morality of a time of theological suspense.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

quackint.n.³

Brit.

/kwak/, U.S.

/kwæk/

Forms: 1500s–1600s quacke, 1500s quack.

Origin: An imitative or expressive formation.

Etymology: Imitative. Compare Dutch kwak , German quack , quak , Swedish kvack , Danish kvak , representing the sound of various animals, especially ducks or frogs. Compare also Old Icelandic kvak twittering (of birds). Compare quake int., quawk n. Compare also quack quack int. See also quack v.¹ and further parallels listed at that entry.Earlier currency is perhaps implied by the following (in which the sound of someone breaking wind is represented):?a1500 Hunting of Hare in H. Weber Metrical Romances (1810) III. 215 Thus sone won hit hym on the backe, That euer after his arse seyd qwacke, When he schulld ryse to walke.

A. int.

Representing the characteristic harsh sound of a duck, or a noise resembling this. Cf. earlier queck int.¹ and see also quack quack int.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [interjection] > quack

quakea1529

quack1577

quack quack1698

quawk1863

1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie ii. sig. Diij^v The Geese and Ganders hist, the Duckes cride quack at mee.

1594 J. Lyly Mother Bombie iii. iv. sig. E5 The goose does hisse, the duck cries quack.

1798 S. T. Coleridge Poems 213 Stares round, cries Quack! and makes an angry pother.

1872 E. Lear More Nonsense iii. There was an old lady of France, Who taught little ducklings to dance; When she said, ‘Tick-a-tack!’—They only said, ‘Quack!’

1937 A. M. Cruickshank in K. Ramchand & C. Gray West Indian Poetry (1972) 9 ‘Quack!’ said the duck.

2006 Spalding Guardian (Nexis) 3 Mar. The story of a duckling who discovers life can be great—even if you go ‘honk’ when everyone else goes ‘quack’.

B. n.³

1. The sound made by a duck; a noise resembling this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > harsh or discordant quality > [noun] > squawk or quack

quack1839

1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. xii. 312 Attending at the Stock-exchange on settling-day amidst the quack of Ducks, the bellowings of Bulls, and the growls of Bears.

1839 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 290 Showing his teeth, and uttering a loud quack!

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. x. 111 He gave me a look from his one little eye..and then a loud quack to second it.

1901 A. R. Conder Seal Silence 211 The voice of the footman rose high above the general quack of conversation.

1997 Sunday Times 26 Oct. (Destinations Suppl.) 9/5 The autumn duck hunters were out in force... You can hear the odd artificial quack floating on the mist, followed by a rapid shot.

2. humorous or nursery. A duck. Cf. quack quack n. (the more usual form).In quots. a1890 and 1911 punning on quack n.²

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun]

endea700

duck967

diga1475

redshank1567

dilly1831

quacker1832

quack1865

quack quack1870

anatine1875

1865 J. Turrill Diary 19 Feb. in Oxfordshire Market Gardener (1993) 72 I and Abe had a shoot at a quack and killed 2 larks.

a1890 Bird o' Freedom in A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang II. 161/2 ‘As a regular doctor No longer she lacks I send her herewith a couple of quacks.’ A splendid couple of ducks accompanied this letter.

1911 Sunset Sept. 284/1 Now and then the ducks left their pond and waddled pompously across the lawn, as if to let the A.M.A. know that the ‘quacks’ had a right to membership, too.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

n.¹c1390

n.²1638

n.⁴1822

v.¹1570

v.²1646

int.n.³1577

单词	quack
释义	† quackn.¹ Forms: Middle English quak, Middle English quake, Middle English quakke, Middle English quat (transmission error), 1500s quacke. Origin: Probably an imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Probably imitative. Perhaps compare German regional (Low German) quakken to moan, groan ( Bremisches Wörterbuch (1767); apparently not recorded in other dictionaries of Low German), and perhaps also quack v.¹, quack int. Compare queck int.², queck n., and later quackle v.¹ Obsolete. rare. A state of hoarseness or croakiness in the throat. on the quack: afflicted by hoarseness. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > [noun] > noisy breathing > hoarseness or croaking in throat quackc1390 bur1393 raucedity1599 rattling1779 frog in the throat1847 stridor1876 c1390 G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale 4152 He yexeth and he speketh thurgh the nose, As he were on the quake [v.rr. quakke, quak, quat] or on the pose. 1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. ii. xvi. f. 91/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I The smoke..was reputed a farre better medicine to keepe the goodman and his family from the quacke or pose. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). quackn.² Brit. /kwak/, U.S. /kwæk/ Forms: 1600s quacke, 1600s quaik, 1600s– quack. Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: quacksalver n. Etymology: Shortened < quacksalver n. colloquial. 1. a. A person who dishonestly claims to have medical or surgical skill, or who advertises false or fake remedies; a medical impostor. Cf. charlatan n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > ignorant or untrained > charlatan quacksalver1579 medicastra1602 water-caster1603 quack1638 medicaster1639 amethodist1654 charlatana1680 quackster1709 crocus1785 Sangrado1812 sangrador1832 1638 F. Quarles Hieroglyphikes iv. Epigr. 17 Quack, leave thy trade; Thy Dealings are not right, Thou tak'st our weighty gold, to give us light. 1683 W. Kennett tr. Erasmus Witt against Wisdom 47 All these hard named fellows cannot make So great a figure as a single Quacke. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 36 Running after Quacks, and Mountebanks..for Medicines and Remedies. 1783 G. Crabbe Village i. 19 A potent quack, long vers'd in human ills, Who first insults the victim whom he kills. 1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. iv. v. 240 Who has once been under the hands of a quack, is ever after dabbling in drugs. 1880 L. S. Beale Slight Ailm. 22 Persons would be easily influenced by what the quack says. 1927 A. Conan Doyle Case-bk. Sherlock Holmes 299 He has been sent on by the Yard. Just as medical men occasionally send their incurables to a quack. 1989 S. Fulder Handbk. Complementary Med. (rev. ed.) iv. 63 The patient is given protection from quacks and charlatans, and protection from avaricious or unethical activities. 2003 R. Dawkins Devil's Chaplain iv. 164 ‘Alternative’ medicine which, while he was dying, was almost daily thrust his way by quacks or their well-meaning dupes. b. Originally Australian and New Zealand. A doctor (with no implication that he or she is unqualified); a physician, a surgeon; (Military) a medical officer. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] physician?c1225 leecherc1374 practiserc1387 doctora1400 flesh-leecha1400 leechman14.. mediciner?a1425 miria1425 M.D.1425 medicine?c1450 practitioner?1543 minister1559 doc1563 artist1565 medicus1570 medicianera1578 Aesculapius1586 Dra1593 pisspot1592 medician1597 physicianer1598 medicinary1599 pisspot1600 velvet-cap1602 healer1611 Galena1616 physiner1616 clyster1621 clyster-pipe1622 hakim1623 medic1625 practicant1630 medico1647 physicker1649 physicster1689 Aesculapian1694 nim-gimmer1699 pill-monger1706 medical man1784 meester1812 medical1823 pill-gilder1824 therapeutist1830 pill1835 pill roller1843 med1851 pill-peddler1855 therapeutic1858 squirt1859 medicine man1866 pill pusher1879 therapist1886 doser1888 internist1894 pill-shooter1911 whitecoat1911 quack1919 vet1925 the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > military physician surgeon1591 medical officer1916 M.O.1916 quack1919 prick farrier1961 1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 40 Quack, a medical officer. c1926 ‘Mixer’ Transport Workers' Song Bk. 43 And ask me if I want a ‘sub’. For to take me to the ‘quack’. 1943 Coast to Coast 1942 29 Might be he lose his leg if we don't get him across right away to the quack. 1960 J. Iggulden Storms of Summer 169 I'll get the quack at the Bush Hospital to have a look at it in the morning. 1976 D. Ireland Glass Canoe 136 I go along to this quack and he says Get back to the surf and get some green vegetables into you. 1995 Select Mar. 98/2 So it was back to the quack, only to get prescribed Prozac. 2. In extended use: any person who dishonestly claims to have special knowledge or skill in any field; = charlatan n. 3. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > a charlatan, fraudster > [noun] shondc725 faitoura1340 fob1393 trumper?c1450 feature14.. chuffera1500 prowler1519 truphane1568 cozener1575 cogger1580 pretender1583 impostor1586 mountebank1589 sycophant?1589 foolmonger1593 affronter1598 assumer1600 knight (also lord, man, etc.) of gingerbread1602 pettifogger1602 budgeter1603 quacksalver1611 empiric1614 putter-off?1615 quack1638 stafador1638 saltimbanco1646 adventurer1648 fourbe1668 shammer1677 imposer1678 charlatana1680 sham1683 cheat1687 hocus1692 gull1699 shamster1716 coal-blower1720 humbugger1752 gagger1781 fudge1794 humbug1804 potwalloper1820 twister1834 jackleg1844 fraud1850 bunyip1852 empiricist1854 Bayswater Captain1880 bluffer1888 putter-down1906 quandong1939 1638 J. Ford Fancies iii. 32 There a' sits..The very quaik of fashions. 1680 R. Mansell Exact & True Narr. Late Popish Intrigue Addr. b j b These Theologico-Political Quacks. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 195. ⁋2 Rules for knowing the Quacks in both Professions [sc. Law and Physic]. 1782 W. Cowper Progress of Error in Poems 474 Church quacks, with passions under no command, Who fill the world with doctrines contraband. 1831 Athenæum 22 Jan. 53/1 Quacks in literature..subtilize into essence, or reduce into consommé. 1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. v. 249 There is scarcely an instance of a lord rector having been a clamorous quack or a canting fanatic. 1938 Amer. Home Jan. 60/2 I have found that the [furniture] restorer who claims to have secret processes is invariably a quack. 1994 Sunday Times 6 Mar. (Business section) iii. 2/6 Some quacks have calculated that if the $60 billion..were spent on US-made goods it would create an extra 2m American jobs. Compounds C1. General attributive, with sense ‘of or belonging to a quack’, as quack advertisement, quack bill, quack cure, quack medicine, etc.; also appositive, with sense ‘that is a quack’, as quack doctor, quack physician, etc. ΚΠ 1670 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1870) I. 583 The Infallible Mountebank or Quack Doctor. 1695 W. W. Novum Lumen Chirurgicum Extinctum (title page) The Base Imposture of his Quack Medicines. 1699 E. Ward London Spy I. iii. 7 We are as equally able to tell the truth of the Story,as a Quack-astrologer is by the assistance of the Signs and Planets. a1704 T. Brown Table-talk in Wks. (1707) I. ii. 38 A Chymist..put out a Quack-Bill. 1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 65 Mr. Bolton..now a quack-Physitian in London. 1749 L. Pilkington Mem. (new ed.) II. xii I disregard the Criticks Frown, And all the Quack-Bards of the Town. 1751 W. Warburton in Wks. of Alexander Pope IV. 29 The bills of Quack-Doctors and Quack-Booksellers being usually pasted together on the same posts. 1785 European Mag. 8 469 A dialogue between the doctor and his clerk satirizes quack advertisements. 1855 R. Browning Bishop Blougram 366 Quack-nonsense about crowns, And..The vague idea of setting things to rights. 1905 A. Bennett Tales of Five Towns i. 94 You see roundabouts, swings,..atrocity booths, quack dentists. 1965 ‘W. Trevor’ Boarding-house vii. 86 Potatoes on string, badger's oil, rhubarb—there's not a quack cure I haven't heard of. 2003 S. Brown Free Gift Inside! 148 He was a generous giver to medical causes, yet he fell for every quack medicine doing the rounds. C2. Objective and instrumental. † quack-adoring adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1875 A. Helps Social Pressure ii. 26 A puffing, advertising, quack-adoring world. ˈquack-ridden adj. ΚΠ 1839 T. Carlyle Chartism v. 43 Europe lay pining,..quack-ridden, hag-ridden. 1912 Times 13 June 10/5 The missionary who brings to the relief of quack-ridden millions the latest results of medical and surgical skill. 2004 Village Voice (Nexis) 14 Dec. 72 The quack-ridden quest for a miracle cure. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). quackn.⁴ Brit. /kwak/, U.S. /kwæk/ Forms: 1800s quock (U.S. regional (Indiana)), 1800s– quack. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: quick n.² Etymology: Variant of quick n.² Chiefly North American. In full quackgrass. Couch grass, Elymus repens. Cf. quick n.²Occasionally applied to other kinds of grass (see quot. 1840). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > weed > grasses perceived as weeds > [noun] > couch-grass quitcheOE quicka1400 quicken?c1425 couch-grass1578 twitch1588 twitch grass1588 dog grass1597 sea dog's grass1597 quick grass1617 couch1637 wheat-grass1668 scutch1686 quickenings1762 quicken grass1771 spear-grass1784 squitch1785 witchgrass1790 felt1794 dog-wheat1796 creeping wheat1819 quack1822 switch-grass1840 couch-wheat1884 1822 A. Eaton Man. Bot. (ed. 3) ii. 494 Triticum..repens..wheat-grass, couch-grass, quack-grass... Very troublesome in fertile soil. 1840 J. Buel Farmer's Compan. (ed. 2) 232 Many species of the festuca and agrostis genera, particularly the A. stricta, of which our quack or witch-grass is a variety. 1884 G. Vasey Agric. Grasses U.S. 108 Quack grass... There has been a good deal of discussion relative to this grass, some pronouncing it one of the vilest of weeds. 1930 Times Educ. Suppl. 31 May 248/1 It [sc. couchgrass] has a good many names: squitch, scutch, quack..are all in use. 1963 J. Cheever Jrnls. (1991) 178 A lawn choked with quack grass. 1993 Community Press 7 Dec. b3/1 The only post-emergent chemical developed for controlling annual grasses and quackgrass in corn. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). quackv.¹ Brit. /kwak/, U.S. /kwæk/ Forms: 1500s– quack, 1600s quacke, 1700s quaake, 1800s quak, 1800s– quaak (English regional (Cheshire)); Scottish 1800s whack, 1800s– quack, 1900s– hwak (Shetland). Origin: An imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Imitative. Compare Middle Dutch quacken , quāken (Dutch kwaken ), Middle Low German quacken , quāken , Middle High German quacken , quaken (early modern German quacken , German quaken ), Swedish kvacka , Danish kvakke to quack, to croak, and also classical Latin coaxāre to croak (see coaxation n.), Russian kvakat' to quack, to croak. Compare also Old Icelandic kvaka to twitter (of birds). Compare quack int. Compare also earlier queck v.¹ and quackling adj., and later quackle v.², quake v.², quawk v. Perhaps compare also quack n.¹ 1. a. intransitive. Of a duck: to make its characteristic harsh sound. Also transitive with cognate object. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [verb (intransitive)] > quack quecka1325 quack1570 quackle1622 quake1829 quank1845 1570 [implied in: B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome iv. f. 48 Some hatch yong fooles as hennes do egges,..or as the quacking ducke. (at quacking adj.¹)]. 1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man v. 416 The dogges barkt, the duckes quackt, the cockes crowed, and the Bees ranne out of the hyue. 1604 ‘W. Terilo’ Piece of Friar Bacons Prophesie sig. B2^v The Henne, the Goose, the Ducke, Might cackle, creake, and quacke. 1617 J. Minsheu Ἡγεμὼν είς τὰς γλῶσσας: Ductor in Linguas To Quacke as a ducke,..coaxare. 1708 W. King Art of Cookery 4 Wild-ducks quack where Grasshoppers did sing. 1770 ‘Orphanotrophian’ Fortunate Blue-coat Boy II. xiii. 210 The turkey erected his feathers, and reddened his gills; the duck quacked, and the cock crowed. 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. x. 108 There were thirteen ducks..and..they all quacked very movingly. 1893 Earl of Dunmore Pamirs I. 185 They [sc. some ducks]..quacked the quack of derision at us. 1989 V. Glendinning Grown-ups iii. 31 The ducks quacked at Charlotte from the lake. 2004 Independent (Compact ed.) 17 Feb. (Review section) 2/3 If it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck..in my book. †b. intransitive. Of another animal or bird: to croak. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > larger song birds > family Corvidae (crow) > [verb (intransitive)] > croak (of raven) quack1727 plunk1808 the world > animals > amphibians > order Anura or Salienta (frogs and toads) > [verb (intransitive)] > croak quest1608 quack1892 1727 A. Boyer Dictionaire Royal (rev. ed.) (at cited word) To Quack (or to croak, as Ravens do), croasser. 1848 G. Barley Thomas à Becket ii. ii. 30 Speckle-black Toad and freckle-green Frog, Hopping together from quag to bog..Croakle goes first and Quackle goes after.] 1892 Ld. Tennyson Foresters ii. ii. 97 My frog that used to quack When I vaulted on his back. 2. intransitive. To make a harsh sound like that of a duck; esp. (of a person) to talk loudly or foolishly. Also with on. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > sounds like animal or bird sounds > [verb (intransitive)] > quack quacka1624 quackle1837 a1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 136 An example to all busie-bodyes, that will dare..to quacke against their betters. 1639 G. Rivers Heroinæ 143 But oh! whilst I am quacking, my Aretaphila is fled. 1865 C. T. Brooks tr. J. P. F. Richter Hesperus I. xix. 362 Parson and schoolmaster and pedagogic frog-spawn were quacking and croaking round a deaf corpse,—all which many name, more concisely, a dirge. 1894 H. Caine Manxman 265 He puffed till his lips quacked, though the pipe gave out no smoke. 1937 M. Mitchell Let. 4 Sept. in Gone with the Wind Lett. (1986) 167 That bewhiskered old wretch who..couldn't bear to have a house full of women gabbling and quacking about his activities. 1970 N. Bawden Birds on Trees ii. 28 While her mother's voice quacked on, she licked her finger and smoothed her eyebrows. 1993 D. A. Smith In Cube ii. 24 The..hidden speaker quacked. 2006 The Word July 79/2 That lovely James Taylor song you've been quacking on about. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). quackv.² Brit. /kwak/, U.S. /kwæk/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: quack n.² Etymology: < quack n.² †1. transitive. To advertise, palm off, or sell like a quack cure; to promote or boost (a person or thing) with fraudulent or exaggerated claims. Also with forth. Obsolete. †to quack titles: to invent new titles for old books in order to promote their sale (obsolete). ΘΚΠ society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > advertising > types or methods of advertising > [verb (transitive)] > advertise ostentatiously or extravagantly quack1646 puff1734 Barnumize1851 boom1879 ballyhoo1911 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > forgery, falsification > forge, falsify [verb (transitive)] > material things counterfeitc1386 marshalc1450 falsify1601 water1646 to quack titles1715 distress1943 1646 J. Cleveland Char. London-Diurnall 41 Could I (in Sir Emp'ricks tone) Speake Pills in phrase, and quack destruction. 1649 Mercurius Pragmaticus Charls II No. 5. sig. E4 Doctor Achon (or Ignoramus) Gourdon the Phisitian is voted Mint-master to quack coyn cum Privilegio. 1651 N. Biggs Matæotechnia Medicinæ Praxeωs Pref. 9 To be Quacked forth in Bartholmew-Fayr. 1715 S. Centlivre Gotham Election i. ii. 40 My third Son is a Bookseller..he has an admirable Knack at quacking Titles. 1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Gill ale A notorious Imposition, which is quack'd upon the World..to be a great Restorative and Curer of Consumptions. 1830 Examiner 610/2 The Politician must be quacked, paragraphed,..and coteried into notoriety. 1834 T. Hood Wks. III. 6 We know of old how medicines were backed, But true Religion needs not to be quacked By an Un-merry Andrew! 2. intransitive. To act as a quack or charlatan; spec. (a) to pretend to have medical skill or knowledge, to dabble ignorantly in medicine; (b) to talk pretentiously and ignorantly, like a quack (formerly also with †of). Now rare.In sense 2(b) sometimes difficult to distinguish from quack v.¹ 2. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > art or science of medicine > practice of healing art > practise the healing art [verb (intransitive)] > ignorantly quack1650 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > insincere or pretentious talk > talk insincerely [verb (intransitive)] vapour1629 cant1648 quack1650 gas1849 bull1850 to shoot the bull1922 blah1924 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > act fraudulently, cheat [verb (intransitive)] > talk like a quack quack1650 1650 T. Venner Via Recta 362 In quacking for Patients he is so kind and free of his service. 1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 20 To Quack of Universal Cures. 1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 22 A virtuoso, able To Smatter, Quack, and Cant, and Dabble. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 36 Ignorant Fellows; quacking and tampering in Physick. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. Pref. p. xxv Enlighten then, their understandings..and who then, will venture to quack or be quacked? 1840 N. Hawthorne Haunted Quack 65 I accordingly resolved to commence quacking—I mean practising—on my own account. 1845 B. R. Hall Something for Every Body viii. 36 I have on divers occasions quacked a little myself—but alas! my disease was too real, and would not stay cured. 1876 G. Meredith Beauchamp's Career III. ii. 29 A wiseacre who went quacking about the county, expecting to upset the order of things. 1994 W. P. Root Trace Elem. Recurring Kingdom 75 He is least a quack when he isn't quacking. 3. transitive (frequently reflexive). To treat in the manner of a quack; to administer quack medicines to; (also) to seek to remedy by ignorant treatment. Also with up. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > [verb (transitive)] > ignorantly tamper1655 quack1746 1746 H. Walpole Let. 7 Feb. in Lett. to H. Mann (1833) II. 124 If he has any skill in quacking madmen, his art may perhaps be of service now. 1757 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances I. lxii. 108 I am..as ‘hoarse as Bondage’. I shall therefore stay here To-night, and quack myself. 1778 Sketches for Tabernacle Frames 17 For quacking Souls you cannot be attack'd. 1820 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 195 I tried with bricks, baskets and everything..to quack up one of them [sc. defective chimneys]. 1821 J. Bentham Elements Art of Packing 144 Epitaph on a Valetudinarian, who quacked himself to death. a1876 H. Martineau Autobiogr. (1877) I. 147 The less its condition is quacked..the better for the mind's health. 1925 Scribner's Mag. Oct. 385/1 Time..has not obliterated the love of being quacked. 1988 Insight Autumn 69/2 The Colonel..quacked himself up with tincture of bark, sal volatile and spirits of lavender. Derivatives † quacked adj. Obsolete ΚΠ a1876 H. Martineau Autobiogr. (1877) II. 461 Such exhortations are too low for even the..quacked morality of a time of theological suspense. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). quackint.n.³ Brit. /kwak/, U.S. /kwæk/ Forms: 1500s–1600s quacke, 1500s quack. Origin: An imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Imitative. Compare Dutch kwak , German quack , quak , Swedish kvack , Danish kvak , representing the sound of various animals, especially ducks or frogs. Compare also Old Icelandic kvak twittering (of birds). Compare quake int., quawk n. Compare also quack quack int. See also quack v.¹ and further parallels listed at that entry.Earlier currency is perhaps implied by the following (in which the sound of someone breaking wind is represented):?a1500 Hunting of Hare in H. Weber Metrical Romances (1810) III. 215 Thus sone won hit hym on the backe, That euer after his arse seyd qwacke, When he schulld ryse to walke. A. int. Representing the characteristic harsh sound of a duck, or a noise resembling this. Cf. earlier queck int.¹ and see also quack quack int. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [interjection] > quack quakea1529 quack1577 quack quack1698 quawk1863 1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie ii. sig. Diij^v The Geese and Ganders hist, the Duckes cride quack at mee. 1594 J. Lyly Mother Bombie iii. iv. sig. E5 The goose does hisse, the duck cries quack. 1798 S. T. Coleridge Poems 213 Stares round, cries Quack! and makes an angry pother. 1872 E. Lear More Nonsense iii. There was an old lady of France, Who taught little ducklings to dance; When she said, ‘Tick-a-tack!’—They only said, ‘Quack!’ 1937 A. M. Cruickshank in K. Ramchand & C. Gray West Indian Poetry (1972) 9 ‘Quack!’ said the duck. 2006 Spalding Guardian (Nexis) 3 Mar. The story of a duckling who discovers life can be great—even if you go ‘honk’ when everyone else goes ‘quack’. B. n.³ 1. The sound made by a duck; a noise resembling this. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > harsh or discordant quality > [noun] > squawk or quack quack1839 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. xii. 312 Attending at the Stock-exchange on settling-day amidst the quack of Ducks, the bellowings of Bulls, and the growls of Bears. 1839 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 290 Showing his teeth, and uttering a loud quack! 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. x. 111 He gave me a look from his one little eye..and then a loud quack to second it. 1901 A. R. Conder Seal Silence 211 The voice of the footman rose high above the general quack of conversation. 1997 Sunday Times 26 Oct. (Destinations Suppl.) 9/5 The autumn duck hunters were out in force... You can hear the odd artificial quack floating on the mist, followed by a rapid shot. 2. humorous or nursery. A duck. Cf. quack quack n. (the more usual form).In quots. a1890 and 1911 punning on quack n.² ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] endea700 duck967 diga1475 redshank1567 dilly1831 quacker1832 quack1865 quack quack1870 anatine1875 1865 J. Turrill Diary 19 Feb. in Oxfordshire Market Gardener (1993) 72 I and Abe had a shoot at a quack and killed 2 larks. a1890 Bird o' Freedom in A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang II. 161/2 ‘As a regular doctor No longer she lacks I send her herewith a couple of quacks.’ A splendid couple of ducks accompanied this letter. 1911 Sunset Sept. 284/1 Now and then the ducks left their pond and waddled pompously across the lawn, as if to let the A.M.A. know that the ‘quacks’ had a right to membership, too. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹c1390n.²1638n.⁴1822v.¹1570v.²1646int.n.³1577
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† quackn.1

quackn.2

Compounds

quackn.4

quackv.1

quackv.2

Derivatives

quackint.n.3

† quackn.¹

quackn.²

quackn.⁴

quackv.¹

quackv.²

quackint.n.³