Etymology

quacksalver

quack·sal·ver
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Today it means: One falsely claiming to possess medical or other skills, especially one who dispenses potions, ointments, etc., supposedly having curative powers; a quack. Full definition →

First used c. 1570Dutch quacksalver ← Middle Dutch quacsalven
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The story

  1. Middle Dutchquacsalven
  2. Dutchquacksalver
  3. English todayquacksalver

From Dutch quacksalver (“a hawker of salve”) (now spelt kwakzalver), derived from Middle Dutch quacsalven (noun or verb), from kwaken (“to boast, to brag; to croak”) + salve (“ointment, salve”) (modern Dutch zalf) + -er (agent noun suffix).

First known use, by meaning

  • from c. 1570 One falsely claiming to possess medical or other skills, especially one who dispenses potions, ointments, etc., supposedly having curative powers; a quack.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.