Pilygamp

(Australian) a shady pharmacist.

Derivation: (1806) from pill +y indicating one who works with pills, and ( gamp created from "go up the ramp" via elision.)

Therefore a pilygamp is one who works with pills, and was sent to the Australian penal colony, hence a shady, or dishonest pharmacist.


Antonym: pilymate


Ed. note: There is an active and heated debate in etymological circles over the derivation of this word. Some even question it's existence in the wild. See Prisoners of Mother England Take Her Tongue Hostage: The Nineteenth Century Word Generators of Australia's Penal Colonies (Cook, 2008), and Additional Australian Attempts at Making Etymologists Look Ridiculous: They Just Made Them Up, People!, (Quiller-Couch, 2008) in the Journal of Etymological Studies and Word Games .