#783 Why do we say “hack writer” and “quack doctor”?

Why do we say “hack writer” and “quack doctor”? Hack comes from Hackney and quack comes from quacksalver, the Dutch for a seller of medicines.

A hack has a negative image, but there is no reason why it should. The word was first used in about 1700 to refer to someone who is hired to do routine work. It wasn’t used to refer to writers until 1826 and they were called Hackney writers from about 1775. So, why?

Gutenberg invented the printing press with movable type in 1448 and books were instantly easier and quicker to print. However, they weren’t much cheaper straight away. It was still a labor intensive process to set up a book to be printed, but, once it was set up, many copies could be produced. The number of printing presses rapidly increased and with the desire for more books came other innovations. The way paper was made was improved and it became much cheaper. Books were freely available, which sparked an increase in the amount of scientific knowledge that was passed around and, probably, ultimately led to the Industrial Revolution. Paper was so cheap by 1700 that daily newspapers could be printed and then thrown away after they were read. That was something unthinkable up until that time. All of these newspapers and new books meant there was a need for more writers. In Britain, there were 1 million books produced by 1500, 20 million by 1600, 90 million by 1700 and 140 million by 1775. And this is where the hack writer comes in. Scientists, historians, and literary people wrote books. Hacks wrote what they were paid to write. They were hired pens.

The term “hack” came from the Hackney horse. In the 14^th century, a horse was bred that was powerful and very good at running. They were used as riding horses because they were reliable. The word hackney possibly came into English from the French haquenee and could have meant “a horse of medium size recommended for lady riders”. The horse was imported when the Normans conquered Britain, so it could be the horse that became known as the Hackney horse. By 1600, London was growing, and these Hackney horses were being used to pull small carriages, called cabs, through the city for the wealthy to ride in. By 1662 they were licensed, and the number of cabs increased. Hackney cabs were cabs for hire and Hackney horses became known as horses for hire. When people started writing for a paycheck, the word Hackney was applied to them and then shortened to hack.

The word “quack” for an untrustworthy doctor became an English word in 1620. The word comes from the Dutch word “quacksalver”. “Quack” meant a person who talks too much or shouts and “salf” meant a medicine, and it is the root of the word salve we have now. A quacksalver was someone who boasted and shouted about his medical wares in order to try and sell them. The word quacksalver entered into English, but I cannot find why. It could be that the medical world was going through an upheaval with new techniques being discovered all the time. People were looking for names for these techniques and they used French, Latin, German, and Dutch. Maybe that’s how the word entered the language.

It is also possible that a lot of medicines were entering England from Europe during the plagues of the time. Many people who were selling “cures” for the plagues were just quacks out to make some money and their medicines had long and magical names. They did not work though, because the only cure that works with the bubonic plague is a course of antibiotics, which wouldn’t be discovered for a few hundred years. The word could have come from Dutch because England and Holland had a tense rivalry at the end of the 16^th century and onwards. The Anglo-Dutch war of 1652 was the culmination of a lot of conflict. They were fighting over colonies and trade routes. Holland was a very powerful Republic and they often defeated England. It took a while before England was powerful enough to turn the relationship around, which is how they ended up with New York. English has a lot of negative words that are about the Dutch, and they all came about because of this rivalry. Dutch courage, go Dutch, Dutch act, Dutch agreement, along with many others. It wouldn’t be surprising that the negative word quacksalver came into English. And this is what I learned today.

Photo by Ron Lach : https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-typing-on-green-typewriter-on-brown-wooden-table-7969735/

Sources

https://www.etymonline.com/word/hack

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/aug/13/hack-writers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_writer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_carriage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_horse