† pursickadj.n.

Forms: Middle English pursike, Middle English pursyk, 1500s–1600s pursick, 1600s pursicke.

Origin: Apparently a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: pursive adj.

Etymology: Apparently < pursive adj. (although this is first attested later), either with suffix substitution (see -ic suffix) or with folk-etymological alteration after sick adj. Compare purblind n., purblind adj., and also pur- prefix.

Obsolete.

A. adj.

Esp. of a horse: suffering from difficulty in breathing, short of breath; pursive, pursy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [adjective] > respiratory disorders

pursick1303

pursivea1425

pursy1440

roaring1509

broken-winded?1523

wind-broken1603

crack-winded1680

thick-windeda1694

musical1831

bellows to mend1854

1303 in W. H. Hale & H. R. Ellacombe Acct. Executors Bishops London & Exeter (1874) 58 (MED) Et de xx s. de uno equo dicto Jullein pursyk vendito.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 23 And by þe stoppinge of þe woosen & weyes þat comeþ fro þe longen, as in hem þat haue þe pirre & stifles and ben pursike [v.r. pursyf; L. spasmaticis] & þicke breþid, and oþir suche.

1610 G. Markham Maister-peece i. xlviii. 99 Of the broken winded or Pursicke Horse.

B. n.

The condition of being pursick; pursiness.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [noun] > respiratory disorders

wind?1523

pursick1566

pursickness1610

roaring1813

heaves1828

broken wind1831

thick wind1831

whistling1856

1566 T. Blundeville Order curing Horses Dis. lxx. f. 46^v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe If it [sc. the dry coughe] continue, it wyll eyther grow to the Pursick, or else breake his winde altogether.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 376 Of the Pursicke. This is a shortnes of breath, and the horse that is so diseased is called of the Italians, Cauallo pulsiuo, or Bolso.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 151/2 The Shortness of Breath, of some termed pur-sick.

Derivatives

pursickness n. pursiness (in a horse).

ΘΚΠ