Quacks?

[deleted]

should not be that hard to find the origins of the slang, surely..

Not everyone called them "quacks," but I imagine people with less money got the sort of doctor who'd take cases that paid less money and quickly got the reputation for being "quacks."

From Wikipedia: "The term quack is a clipped form of the archaic term quacksalver, from Dutch: kwakzalver a "hawker of salve". In the Middle Ages the term quack meant "shouting". The quacksalvers sold their wares on the market shouting in a loud voice.

Common elements of general quackery include questionable diagnoses using questionable diagnostic tests, as well as untested or refuted treatments, especially for serious diseases such as cancer. Quackery is often described as "health fraud" with the salient characteristic of aggressive promotion."