different between charlatan vs quackery

English

Etymology

From Middle French charlatan, from Old Italian ciarlatano (“quack”), a blend of ciarlatore (“chatterer”) + cerretano (“hawker, quack”, literally “native of Cerreto”) (Cerreto di Spoleto being a village in Umbria, known for its quacks).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /????l?t?n/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /????l?t?n/
• Hyphenation: char?la?tan

Noun

charlatan (plural charlatans)

1. (obsolete) A mountebank, someone who addresses crowds in the street; (especially), an itinerant seller of medicines or drugs.
   • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol I, ch. 38:

     The poor foreigner, more dead than alive, answered that he was an Italian charlatan, who had practised with some reputation in Padua […] .

2. A malicious trickster; a fake person, especially one who deceives for personal profit.

   Synonyms: trickster, swindler; see also Thesaurus:deceiver

   • 2018 (June), Ian Murray in The Independent

     That this disgraceful charlatan holds one of the great offices of state in this country should be a source of constant shame and embarrassment to the Prime Minister.

Related terms

• charlatanism
• charlatanry

Translations

French

Etymology

From Italian ciarlatano. Pejorative meaning first recorded 1668.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?a?.la.t??/

Noun

charlatan m (plural charlatans, feminine charlatane)

1. (dated) a streetseller of medicines
2. a charlatan (trickster)
3. a quack

Further reading

• “charlatan” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Noun

charlatan m (plural charlatans)

1. a street-seller of medicines

Descendants

• ? English: charlatan
• French: charlatan

Swedish

Etymology

From French charlatan. Cognate of English charlatan, German Scharlatan.

Noun

charlatan c

1. fraudster, deceiver

Declension

Derived terms

• charlataneri

References

• charlatan in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• charlatan in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• charlatan in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

English

Etymology

quack +? -ery

Noun

quackery (countable and uncountable, plural quackeries)

1. (law, medicine, uncountable) The practice of fraudulent medicine, usually in order to make money or for ego gratification and power; health fraud.
2. (countable) An instance of practicing fraudulent medicine.

Quotations

• 1772: Edmund Burke, ed, The Annual Register

  His intentions were admirable, and his quackery had in view the public good; [...]

Related terms

• quack

Translations

See also

• fraud
• snake oil