Derbyshire
(ˈdɑːbɪ-, ˈdɜːbɪʃə(r))
[In OE. Déorb{yacu}-sc{iacu}r, Déorb{iacu}-sc{iacu}r: see prec.]
The shire or county of Derby in England. Hence
1. Derbyshire neck: a swelling of the thyroid gland; bronchocele, goitre; so called as being endemic in parts of that county.
| 1802 Beddoes Hygëia vi. 67 The water of melted snow has been held by many authors to be the cause of the bronchocele or Derbyshire neck. 1836 Sir G. Head Home Tour 117 The malady..called the ‘Derbyshire neck’—an endemic protuberance in the throat, or goitre. 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 191 Goitre, or Derbyshire neck, is very common. |
2. Derbyshire spar, † drop: fluor-spar.
| 1772 Gilpin Lakes Cumberland (1788) II. 217 It..is known in London by the name of the Derbyshire drop. But on the spot it is called Blue John. 1788 Cronstedt's Min. 26 Pieces of Derbyshire spar, through which the light of a candle formed many images. 1854 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circ. Sc. Chem. 64 Derbyshire spar (fluoride of calcium). |