Croop

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A harsh, hoarse cough, especially one affecting children's breathing ; to utter a rough, croaking sound in a low, strained voice
2. A rough, rasping cough typical of a throat ailment ; to produce a hoarse, grating noise like a frog or a strained voice
3. A dry, hoarse cough associated with throat inflammation ; to emit a harsh, husky croak from the throat

Etymology: Before it named a childhood illness, this word was a Scots verb meaning to croak, speak hoarsely, or complain. Its ancestor was Old English "hrōpan," meaning to shout or cry out, and the Scots forms "crowp" and "croap" developed from related verbs such as "roup" and "rope," all meaning to cry hoarsely. The sound was the point: a harsh, rasping noise was named before the illness was. The medical sense came later, when the Edinburgh physician Francis Home applied the Scots term to the disease, the barking cough of young children caused by swelling in the throat. The name looks like the French "croupe," meaning rump, which is a different word with a different root, so the resemblance is coincidental.