quack
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quack¹
- /kwæk/
Rhymes with -æk
Where it comes from
From Middle English *quacken, queken (“to croak like a frog; make a noise like a duck, goose, or quail”), from quack, qwacke, quek, queke (“quack”, interjection and noun), also kek, keke, whec-, partly of imitative origin and partly from Middle Dutch quacken (“to croak, quack”), from Old Dutch *kwaken (“to croak, quack”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwakōn, from Proto-Germanic *kwakaną, *kwakōną (“to croak”), of imitative origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian kwoakje, kwaakje (“to quack”), Middle Low German quaken (“to quack, croak”), German quaken (“to quack, croak”), Danish kvække (“to croak”), Swedish kväka (“to croak, quackle”), Norwegian kvekke (“to croak”), Icelandic kvaka (“to twitter, chirp, quack”).
noun quacks · quaake
- The vocalisation made by a duck. Did you hear that duck make a quack?
verb quacks · quacking · quacked · quaake
- Of a duck, to make its characteristic vocalisation. The more breadcrumbs I threw on the ground, the more they quacked.
- To make a sound similar to the quack of a duck.
- Of a queen bee: to make a high-pitched sound during certain stages of development.
interjection quaake
- A duck's quack.
quack²
- /kwæk/
Rhymes with -æk
Where it comes from
Clipping of quacksalver (see there for more), of Dutch origin; ultimately related to Etymology 1 above.
noun quacks
- 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 That doctor is nothing but a lousy quack!
- Any similar charlatan or incompetent professional. The very quaik of faſhions, the very hee that / VVeares a Steletto on his chinne.
- Any doctor. That quack wants me to quit smoking, eat less, and start exercising. The nerve!
Similar: snake-oil salesman, medicaster, quacksalver, pharmacopole
verb quacks · quacking · quacked
- To practice or commit quackery (fraudulent medicine). […] it is incredible, and scarce to be imagin’d, how the Posts of Houses, and Corners of Streets were plaster’d over with Doctors Bills, and Papers of ignorant Fellows; quacking and tampering in Physick, and inviting the People to come to them for Remedies;
-
To make vain and loud pretensions.
Seek out for Plants with Signatures
To Quack of Universal Cures
Similar: boast
adjective more quack · quacker · most quack · quackest
- Falsely presented as having medicinal powers. Don't get your hopes up; that's quack medicine!
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: unqualified, mountebank, charlatan, faker, fake, fraud, hack, healer, quaake, quackism, queak, quackhood, cack, cluck, queek, quawk
noun
Similar: snake-oil salesman, medicaster, quacksalver, pharmacopole
Translations
Every language
noun sound made by a duck
| Español | cuac, cua |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 꽥꽥 kkwaekkkwaek |
| 日本語 | ガー ガー gā-gā, クェッ クェッ kuek-kuek, クワッ クワッ kuwak-kuwak |
| 中文 | 嘎 gá, 呱 guā |
| Português | quá, quac, qué, quém |
| Français | coin-coin |
| Deutsch | Quaken |
| Italiano | qua qua |
| Ελληνικά | πα πα |
| Română | măcăit, măcănit, măcăitură |
| Русский | кря krja, кря-кря́ krja-krjá, кря́канье krjákanʹje |
| Tiếng Việt | cạc cạc, cạp cạp |
| العربية | بَطْبَطَة baṭbaṭa, زَبْط zabṭ |
verb to make a noise like a duck
| Español | graznar, parpar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ガーガーと鳴く gā-gā to naku, ガヤガヤしゃべる gayagaya shaberu |
| Português | grasnar, grasnir, grassitar, gracitar |
| Français | cancaner |
| Deutsch | quaken |
| Italiano | fare qua-qua, anatrare |
| Română | măcăi |
| Русский | кря́кать krjákatʹ, кря́кнуть krjáknutʹ |
| العربية | زَبَطَ zabaṭa |
noun fraudulent or incompetent doctor of medicine
| Español | matasanos |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 藪医者 yabuisha, もぐりの医者 moguri no isha |
| 中文 | 庸醫 /庸医 yōngyī, 江湖醫生 /江湖医生 jiānghú yīshēng |
| हिन्दी | झोलाछाप jholāchāp |
| Português | mata-sanos |
| Français | charlatan, charlatane |
| Deutsch | Quacksalber, Kurpfuscher |
| Ελληνικά | κομπογιαννίτης kompogiannítis, αλμπάνης almpánis |
| Русский | конова́л konovál, шарлата́н šarlatán |
| Tiếng Việt | lang băm |
| עברית | רוֹפֵא אֱלִיל rofé elíl |
noun charlatan
| Español | charlatán |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ペテン師 peten-shi |
| हिन्दी | झोलाछाप jholāchāp |
| Português | charlatão |
| Français | charlatan, charlatane |
| Deutsch | Quacksalber, Quacksalberin |
| Italiano | ciarlatano, imbonitore, pataccaro |
| Ελληνικά | τσαρλατάνος tsarlatános |
| Русский | шарлата́н šarlatán |
noun doctor
| Español | curandero |
|---|---|
| Português | curandeiro |
| Français | toubib |
| Italiano | mediconzolo |
| Русский | знахарь znaxarʹ |
adj falsely presented as having medicinal powers
| Italiano | empirico |
|---|
Talk about this word "quack." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/quack. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. quack. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/quack "quack." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/quack.Cite this
@misc{quack_2026,
title = {quack},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/quack},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
