1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Quinsy

QUINSY, a common term for acute suppurative tonsillitis (q.v.). The English word (formerly “squinzey”) is a corruption of Fr. esquinancie, from Gr. κυνάγχη (κύων, dog, and ἄγχειν, to choke), and is derived from the suffocating tendency of the ailment.