quinsy
/ˈkwɪnzi/
quinsy noun: a peritonsillar abscess; a painful pus-filled inflammation or abscess of the tonsils and surrounding tissues, usually a complication of tonsillitis, caused by bacterial infection and often accompanied by fever.
Noun
quinsy (countable and uncountable, plural quinsies)
- A peritonsillar abscess; a painful pus-filled inflammation or abscess of the tonsils and surrounding tissues, usually a complication of tonsillitis, caused by bacterial infection and often accompanied by fever.
- He'd had the quinsy and swollen glands when he was young, he told me, and it had left him with a weal throat, and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech.1891 [September], A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Adventure III.—A Case of Identity.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume II (July...
- b False. Quinsies are found at the back of the throat on either side of the uvula along the tonsils.
c True. A quinsy grows as it swells with pus. This space-occupying effect can push the uvula away from it towards the opposite side.2010, Gurdeep Singh Mannu, Tunde Odutoye, ENT MCQs for Medical Students: With Explanatory Answers, page 130
quinsy meaning in Tamil and Urdu
quinsy in Tamil
- தொண்டைச்சீழ்க்கட்டி
quinsy in Urdu
- پیپ بھرا
Synonyms of quinsy
Forms of quinsy
| plural | quinsies |
|---|---|
| alternative form | quinsey |
| alternative form | quinzy |
Origin of quinsy
From Middle English quinesye, from Old French quinencie, from Medieval Latin quinancia, from Ancient Greek κυνάγχη (kunánkhē, “canine quinsy”), from κύων (kúōn, “dog”) + ἄγχω (ánkhō, “throttle”). Doublet of cynanche.
Words formed from quinsy
Words that rhyme with quinsy
Questions about quinsy
- What does quinsy mean?
- Quinsy means a peritonsillar abscess; a painful pus-filled inflammation or abscess of the tonsils and surrounding tissues, usually a complication of tonsillitis, caused by bacterial infection and often accompanied by fever.
- What is quinsy in Tamil?
- Quinsy in Tamil is தொண்டைச்சீழ்க்கட்டி. See Quinsy meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is quinsy?
- Quinsy is a noun.
- How do you pronounce quinsy?
- Quinsy is pronounced /ˈkwɪnzi/.
- What is the plural of quinsy?
- The plural of quinsy is quinsies.
Words near quinsy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: quinsy (page history and authors); quinsy (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); quinsy (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-quinsy.wav.
Cite this entry: “quinsy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/quinsy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.