Quack
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
quack
adj 1: medically unqualified; "a quack doctor"
n 1: an untrained person who pretends to be a physician and who
dispenses medical advice
2: the harsh sound of a duck
v 1: utter quacking noises; "The ducks quacked"
2: act as a medical quack or a charlatan
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Quack \Quack\, n.
1. The cry of the duck, or a sound in imitation of it; a
hoarse, quacking noise. --Chaucer.
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2. [Cf. {Quacksalver}.] A boastful pretender to medical
skill; an empiric; an ignorant practitioner.
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3. Hence, one who boastfully pretends to skill or knowledge
of any kind not possessed; a charlatan.
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Quacks political; quacks scientific, academical.
--Carlyle.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Quack \Quack\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Qvacked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Quacking}.] [Of imitative origin; cf. D. kwaken, G. quacken,
quaken, Icel. kvaka to twitter.]
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1. To utter a sound like the cry of a duck.
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2. To make vain and loud pretensions; to boast. " To quack of
universal cures." --Hudibras.
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3. To act the part of a quack, or pretender.
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from
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
QUACK. One, who, without sufficient knowledge, study or previous
preparation, and without the diploma of some college or university,
undertakes to practice medicine or surgery, under the pretence that he
possesses secrets in those arts.
2. He is criminally answerable for his unskillful practice, and also,
civilly to his patient in certain cases. Vide Mala praxis; Physician.
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
75 Moby Thesaurus words for "quack":
blagueur, bluff, bluffer, cackle, call, carol, caw, charlatan,
charlatanic, charlatanish, chatter, cheep, chirk, chirp, chirr,
chirrup, chitter, chuck, clack, cluck, cock-a-doodle-doo, coo,
counterfeit, counterfeiter, croak, cronk, crow, cuckoo, drum, fake,
faker, fourflusher, fraud, fraudulent, gabble, gaggle, gobble,
guggle, honk, hoo, hoot, horse doctor, humbug, impersonator,
impostor, malingerer, medicaster, medicine man, medicine monger,
mountebank, peep, phony, pip, pipe, poser, poseur, pretender,
quackish, quacksalver, quackster, ringer, roll, saltimbanco, scold,
sham, shammer, simulator, sing, squawk, trill, tweet, twit,
twitter, warble, whistle
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