For those of you who enjoy etymology :-) my dictionary (Webster's 7th collegiate, 1970) gives the following as the source of the word: from Middle English dropesie, short for ydropesie, from Old French, from Latin hydropisis, modification of Greek hydrops, from hydor meaning water: EDEMA Probably, more than you wanted to know, but just in case you were more interested in the derivation of the word, rather than just the definition. -----Original Message----- From: NatrLvrnMT@aol.com [mailto:NatrLvrnMT@aol.com] Sent: Saturday, August 27, 2005 9:22 AM To: OHHAMILT-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [OH-HAMILT] What is "dropsy?" Several of my family members in the 1800s and very early 1900s died of something called 'dropsy.' I heard somewhere that it had something to do with edema (swelling) but why would that be called "Dropsy?" The name would lead me to believe that maybe they dropped things, like Parkinsons, with the associated tremors, or maybe they fell down a lot, maybe from weakness?... but that sounds too simple. Does anyone know the exact meaning of the word in this context? Thanks for any help you can give. I'm curious what it is that killed so many of my ancestors. Donna ______________________________ -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.10.16/83 - Release Date: 8/26/2005 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.10.16/83 - Release Date: 8/26/2005