Meaning & use
quacksalver
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Meaning
nouncountablearchaicdisapproving
An old word for a person who pretends to be a doctor and sells useless medicines.
Grammar: Countable: a quacksalver, several quacksalvers. Now mainly found in historical writing.
Patterns
- a quacksalver who sells something
- be dismissed as a quacksalver
In the 17th century, a quacksalver traveled from town to town selling miracle cures.
The pamphlet warned people not to trust every quacksalver with a shiny bottle.
Modern historians describe him as a quacksalver rather than a trained physician.
Word forms
| plural | quacksalvers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a traveling quacksalver
- A traveling quacksalver set up a stall in the market square.
- dismiss someone as a quacksalver
- The doctors dismissed the newcomer as a quacksalver.
- sell cures like a quacksalver
- He sold cures like a quacksalver, promising health for a few coins.
Synonyms and how they differ
- quack
- 'Quack' is the common modern word for the same idea and fits everyday speech better.
- charlatan
- 'Charlatan' is broader: it can mean any person who falsely claims special knowledge, not only medicine.
- mountebank
- 'Mountebank' also suggests a public performer selling fake remedies, but it is less directly about medicine.
Word family
- quack noun
- A fake doctor or a person who sells useless medical treatments.
- quackery noun
- The practice of pretending to have medical skill or selling fake cures.
Commonly confused: quacksalver or salver?
quacksalver vs salver
A salver is a tray for serving things; 'quacksalver' is an old word for a fake doctor.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'quacksalver' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Quacksalver' means a fake doctor or seller of useless remedies, so the medicine bottle fits. The other options describe ordinary jobs or actions that do not match the word's meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “quacksalver”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.