1. a medical condition characterized by abnormal accumulation of fluid in body tissues or cavities, causing swelling
Usage: medical; archaic

Examples

• The old medical texts described dropsy as a common ailment among sailors.
• Before modern medicine, dropsy was often a fatal condition.
• The patient’s dropsy caused severe swelling in his legs and abdomen.
• Historical records show that dropsy was frequently mentioned in 18th-century death certificates.
• The doctor explained that what was once called dropsy is now known as edema.
• Shakespeare’s characters sometimes suffered from dropsy in his plays.