Quack

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kwæk/

Definitions

1. A fraudulent practitioner who falsely claims medical expertise or peddles dubious remedies without proper qualifications
2. A person falsely presenting themselves as a medical expert to deceive others ; the characteristic noise produced by a duck's voice
3. Someone who pretends to have medical skills without genuine credentials to mislead patients ; the typical vocalization ducks make

Etymology: The sound came first. The verb "quack" imitates the cry of a duck, and the noun for the cry, "quack," is older than the human sense by centuries. The imitation is shared across Germanic languages: German "quaken," Danish "kvække," and Swedish "kväka" all croak in much the same way. The medical sense comes from Dutch. "Quacksalver" is a compound of "quack," meaning to boast or chatter, and "salver," an ointment-seller, so the original figure was a peddler who loudly advertised his remedies. English borrowed the word in clipped form, and by the 17th century "quack" described a healer who promised more than he could deliver. The duck-like racket of a market seller's pitch became a name for the fraud behind it.

Synonyms: fraud, charlatan, imposter, phony, sham

Antonyms: expert, professional, authentic, genuine, specialist