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kwakzalver — meaning in English

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English meaning

  • mountebank noun One who sells dubious medicines.
  • quack noun The harsh, honking sound a duck makes.
  • quacksalver noun One falsely claiming to possess medical or other skills, especially one who dispenses potions, ointments, etc., supposedly having curative powers; a quack.

Senses

kwakzalver is used for these senses in English:

  • quack (pejorative) A fraudulent healer, especially a bombastic peddler in worthless treatments, a doctor who makes false diagnoses for monetary benefit, or an untrained or poorly trained doctor who uses fraudulent credentials to attract patients [from c. 1630]
  • quack (figuratively, pejorative) Any similar charlatan or incompetent professional.
  • quacksalver (archaic) One falsely claiming to possess medical or other skills, especially one who dispenses potions, ointments, etc., supposedly having curative powers; a quack. [from c. 1570]

mountebank — full definition

  1. noun One who sells dubious medicines.
  2. noun One who sells by deception; a con artist.
  3. noun Any boastful, false pretender.

quack — full definition

  1. noun The harsh, honking sound a duck makes.
  2. verb Of a duck, to make its characteristic call.
  3. noun A person who dishonestly claims medical expertise they don't have, or who peddles fake cures.

Related Dutch words