water brash

English

Alternative forms

water-brash, waterbrash

Etymology

From water +‎ brash.

Noun

water brash (uncountable) (slightly dated)

1. Excessive salivation coupled with varying degrees of regurgitation into the esophagus, resulting in upper gastrointestinal symptoms such as heartburn (as the regurgitated stomach contents are typically acidic).
   • 1841 April, Thomas West, M.D., A Treatise on Pyrosis Idiopathica Or Water Brash‎^[1], London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →PMID, archived from the original on 2015-05-26, page 1:

     Pyrosis is, in a minor degree, a very common attendant on various forms of dyspepsia; but in some instances it is itself so urgent and distressing, presenting itself as so prominent a feature of gastric malady, that it throws most of the other well-known symptoms into the shade, so as to claim the painful attention of the sufferer and the special observation of the practitioner. Hence it has acquired a distinct place in Nosology; and hence it is, that in common parlance it is distinguished by the term water-brash or water-qualm.

   • 1849, Frederick Hollick, M.D., The Matron's Manual Of Midwifery‎^[2], New York: T. W. Strong:

     PYROSIS. This disease is more frequently called water brash and sometimes heart burn. It is characterized by the raising of a hot acrid fluid into the throat, causing a sensation of burning from the stomach upward, even to the mouth. It is a very frequent attendant upon many forms of dyspepsia […]

   • 1986 June, James F. Helm, M.D., “Esophageal Acid Clearance”, in Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology‎^[3], volume 8, Supplement 1, New York: Raven Press, Inc., →DOI, →PMID, page 5:

     Hypersalivation with heartburn, commonly referred to as waterbrash, may be a protective response to gastroesophageal reflux.

   • “water brash” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th revised edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN; reproduced on TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024, retrieved 25 October 2024: “Regurgitation of watery acid from the stomach.”.
   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:water brash.
   • Synonyms: pyrosis (obsolete), water qualm (dated)
2. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) (Scotland) Heartburn.

Related terms

• acid reflux

Further reading

• Hypersalivation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia