Ailment vs Marthambles - What's the difference?
ailment | marthambles |
(obsolete, used in historical fiction) A particular ailment unknown to, and uncurable by, medical science
*circa 1700 , Dr. Tufts, handbill, as reproduced in
*:These are to give notice, (for the benefit of the public,) that there is newly arrived from his travels, a gentleman, who, after above forty years' study, hath, by a wonderful blessing on his endeavours, discovered, as well the nature as the infallible cure of several strange diseases, which (though as yet not known to the world) he will plainly demonstrate to any ingenious artist, to be the greatest causes of the most common distempers incident to the body of man. The names of which take as follow : / The strong fives / The marthambles / The moon-pall / The hockogrocle.
*{{quote-book, 1971, , The Ringed Castle, edition=1997 Vintage ed.
, passage=If you can manage an attack of the Marthambles , we could persuade one to say an incantation over you. You would then be anointed with infallible remedies -- say, live earworms mashed into alcohol.}}
*{{quote-book, 1991, , The Nutmeg of Consolation
, passage=
As nouns the difference between ailment and marthambles
is that ailment is something which ails one; a disease; sickness while marthambles is a particular ailment unknown to, and uncurable by, medical science.marthambles
English
Alternative forms
*Marthambles *markamblesNoun
(-)Relics of Literatureby Ruben Percy, published 1828, page 218:
citation
citation
External links
*Discussion of the marthambles on Language Log*
Marthambles World Wide Words
