why is a doctor of medicine who is no good called a quack?

Answer 1

There is another theory. During the great plague, the 'plague doctors' that went around the houses trying to attend the sick and the dying acquired this name because of their appearance: Their torso was covered with a full-length leather coat, their hands with gauntlet gloves, their eyes with a pair of goggles, and their nose with a large cone. The cone was filled with herbs of all sorts and fastened onto the nose by a strap around the head. Of course, the population were dying like flies, it was obvious these plague doctors were usless . So a quack became a term for a "Useless doctor"

Answer 2

To begin at the beginning, "quack" has been used to mean the sound a duck makes since the 16th century. "Quack" is what linguists call an "echoic" or "imitative" word -- it arose simply because folks thought it was a good approximation of the actual sound it describes.

At about the same time that people decided that ducks "quack," they also began to use "quack" to describe the sound made by itinerant patent medicine salesmen made as they hawked their wares. These charlatans, who boasted endlessly about the miraculous properties of the ointments and potions they sold, were known as "quacksalvers" -- they "quacked" about their "salves." The term "quacksalver" was quickly shortened in common usage, giving us "quack

Of course, back there in the 16th and 17th centuries, medical science was in its infancy, and the field was awash in fakers and charlatans of all stripes. The term "quack" was fairly quickly expanded from salve-peddlers to include fraudulent "doctors" who advertised their ability to cure a wide variety of ailments but excelled only in relieving their patients of their wallets.

This use of "quack" to describe an unscrupulous or unqualified physician has been in constant use ever since, for more than 300 years, probably because there is no lack of quacks even today. National news magazines devote cover stories to dubious "alternative therapies" and New Age flapdoodle, and even PBS wastes hours of programming on bogus "natural healing" gurus. I'm afraid that a truly accurate map of the modern medical world would still mark large regions with the warning "Here Be Quacks."

Hope this helps

Answer 3

Quack is not a qualified Doctor. Hence called Quack.

Answer 4

here's the answer - last paragraph:
Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the unethical practice of promising health-related benefits for which there is little or no basis. Quack is also a term used for an incompetent medical doctor, or any other person who dispenses false medical advice or treatment.[citations needed]

"Health fraud" is often used as a synonym for quackery, but this use can be problematic, since quackery can exist without fraud, a word which always implies deliberate deception. [1]

The word "quack" derives from "quacksalver," an archaic word originally of Dutch origin (spelled kwakzalver in contemporary Dutch), meaning "boaster who applies a salve."

Answer 5

Probably because he ducks out of the right decisions. Alternatively:-

Quackery is the practice of fraudulent medicine, usually in order to make money or for ego gratification and power. Those who practise quackery are called "quacks" and are in the business of selling false hope to ill-informed people who may be genuinely suffering. Most would consider such a practice highly unethical

Answer 6

Quack is short for Quacksalver: n. 1. One who boasts of his skill in medicines and salves, or of the efficacy of his prescriptions; a charlatan; a quack; a mountebank.

Answer 7

Because he has the brain of a duck?

'nuff said?

Answer 8

Cos he's a f uck I mean a duck..gwaf gwaf

Answer 9

he was alcoholic

Answer 10

no idea...