dropsy

[ drop-see ]

noun
  1. (formerly) edema.

  2. an infectious disease of fishes, characterized by a swollen, spongelike body and protruding scales, caused by a variety of the bacterium Pseudomonas punctata.

Origin of dropsy

1
1250–1300; Middle English drop(e)sie, aphetic variant of ydropesie<Old French <Medieval Latin (h)ydrōpisīa, equivalent to Latin hydrōpis(is) (<Greek hydrōpi-, stem of hýdrōps dropsy (hydr-hydr-1 + -ōpsi-< ?) + -sis-sis) + -ia-y3

Other words from dropsy

  • drop·sied [drop-seed], /ˈdrɒp sid/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dropsy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dropsy

dropsy

/ (ˈdrɒpsɪ) /


noun
  1. pathol a condition characterized by an accumulation of watery fluid in the tissues or in a body cavity

  2. slang a tip or bribe

Origin of dropsy

1
C13: shortened from ydropesie, from Latin hydrōpisis, from Greek hudrōps, from hudōr water

Derived forms of dropsy

  • dropsical (ˈdrɒpsɪkəl) or dropsied, adjective
  • dropsically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012