An archaic or dialectal term for whooping cough, a serious infectious respiratory disease that causes violent coughing fits.
Possibly from 'chin' (perhaps imitating the sound) combined with 'cough,' or a dialectal corruption of whooping cough; the exact origin is unclear but it's an old folk term.
Chincough shows how communities created their own medical vocabulary before standardized terminology—each region had different names for the same terrifying disease!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.