qualm

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• Received-Pronunciation: /kwɑːm/
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• Received-Pronunciation: /kwɔːm/
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• UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• General-American: /kwɑ(l)m/
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• General-American: /kwɔ(l)m/
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• General-American, obsolete: /kwæm/
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• rhymes with -ɑːm
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• rhymes with -ɔːm
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• rhymes with -ɑːlm
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Perhaps from Middle English qualm, cwalm (“death, sickness, plague”), which is from Old English cwealm (West Saxon: "death, disaster, plague"), ūtcualm (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.

73 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Bulgarian: безпокойство (bezpokojstvo) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Bulgarian: опасение (opasenie) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Czech: pochybnosti — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Czech: obavy — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Czech: rozpaky — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Dutch: angstgevoel — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Dutch: onbehagen — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Dutch: bedenking — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Dutch: onzekerheid — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Dutch: twijfel — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Finnish: epävarmuus — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Finnish: epäilys — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• French: appréhension — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Georgian: ეჭვი (eč̣vi) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Georgian: მერყეობა (merq̇eoba) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Georgian: დაბნეულობა (dabneuloba) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Italian: dubbio — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Italian: apprensione — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Italian: paura — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Māori: potau — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Polish: niepokój — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Portuguese: apreensão — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Portuguese: receio — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Russian: сомне́ние (somnénije) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Russian: расте́рянность (rastérjannostʹ) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Slovak: zábrany — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Slovak: pochybnosti — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Slovak: obavy — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Spanish: reparo — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Spanish: renuencia — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Spanish: reaciedad — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Swedish: betänklighet — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Ukrainian: сумнів (sumniv) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Ukrainian: побоювання (pobojuvannja) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Ukrainian: вагання (vahannja) — sudden feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear, etc.
• Bulgarian: прилошаване (prilošavane) — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Bulgarian: гадене (gadene) — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Czech: (lehká) nevolnost — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Dutch: braakneiging — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Dutch: (plotse) onpasselijkheid — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Dutch: (aanval van) misselijkheid — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Finnish: kuvotus — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Finnish: etominen — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Georgian: გულის რევა (gulis reva) — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Māori: potau — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Portuguese: mal-estar — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Romanian: greață — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Russian: тошнота́ (tošnotá) — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Spanish: reparo — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Ukrainian: нудота (nudota) — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Ukrainian: млість (mlistʹ) — sickly feeling of being ill at ease; sudden queasiness
• Bulgarian: угризение (ugrizenie) — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Czech: výčitky — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Czech: skrupule — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Dutch: gewetensaanval — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Dutch: gewetensbezwaar — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Dutch: scrupule — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Dutch: wroeging — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Finnish: tunnontuska — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• French: scrupule — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Georgian: სინდისის ქენჯნა (sindisis kenǯna) — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• German: Gewissensbisse — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Italian: scrupolo — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Macedonian: скрупула (skrupula) — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Māori: potau — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Polish: skrupuł — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Portuguese: escrúpulo — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Romanian: scrupul — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Romanian: compuncțiune — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Russian: угрызе́ния со́вести (ugryzénija sóvesti) — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Slovak: zábrany — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Swedish: samvetskval — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule
• Ukrainian: докори сумління (dokory sumlinnja) — prick of the conscience, moral scrupule