dropsy

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical medicine: edema, or swelling caused by excess fluid in body tissues

   The older medical text compares chronic vice to dropsy because both were considered difficult to cure.

From Middle English dropesie, through Old French and Latin from Ancient Greek hydrops, "dropsy," based on hydor, "water." The initial syllable was lost through historical reanalysis.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary