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qualm

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Qualm

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Perhaps from Middle English qualm, cwalm (death, sickness, plague), which is from Old English cwealm (West Saxon: "death, disaster, plague"), ūtcwalm (Anglian: "utter destruction"), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalm (killing, death, destruction), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (to stick, pierce; pain, injury, death), whence also quell. Although the sense development is possible, this has the problem that there are no attestations in intermediate senses before the appearance of "pang of apprehension, etc." in the 16th century. The alternative etymology is from Dutch kwalm or German Qualm (steam, vapor, mist) earlier “daze, stupefaction”, which is from the root of German quellen (to stream, well up). The sense “feeling of faintness” is from 1530; “uneasiness, doubt” from 1553; “scruple of conscience” from 1649.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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qualm (plural qualms)

  1. A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc. [from 16th c.]
  2. A sudden sickly feeling; queasiness. [from 16th c.]
  3. (now chiefly in the negative) A prick of the conscience; a moral scruple, a pang of guilt. [from 17th c.]
    This lawyer has no qualms about saving people who are on the wrong side of the law.
  4. (archaic, UK, dialectal) Mortality; plague; pestilence.
  5. (archaic, UK, dialectal) A calamity or disaster.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

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qualm (third-person singular simple present qualms, present participle qualming, simple past and past participle qualmed)

  1. (intransitive) To have a sickly feeling.

References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “qualm”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ Meredith, L. P. (1872) “Qualm”, in Every-Day Errors of Speech[1], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., page 37.

Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old English cwealm, from Proto-West Germanic *kwalm.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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qualm

  1. Plague, disease or sickness; that which afflicts.
  2. The effects, fruits, or ravages of plague.
  3. (rare) Killing (as a concept or as an instance)

Descendants

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  • English: qualm (possibly)
  • Scots: qualm (possibly)

References

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