qualms
doubts, worries, uneasy feelings
TRANSLATION
die Bedenken, der Zweifel
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"While demanding proof that Kyoto will work," the paper says, "Bush has no QUALMS about endorsing the construction of an anti-missile shield whose effectiveness has yet to be proved."
(BBC News, 15th June 2001)
(BBC News, 15th June 2001)
Did you
know?
qualm
Qualm in English has nothing to do with smoke!
Etymologists aren't sure where "qualm" originated, but they do know it entered English around 1530.
Originally, it referred to a sudden sick feeling. Robert Louis Stevenson made use of this older sense in his book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: "A qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering."
Soon after "qualm" entered the language, it came to designate not only sudden attacks of illness, but also sudden attacks of emotion or principle.
Nowadays the most common meaning of "qualm" is "doubt or uneasiness", particularly in not following one's conscience or better judgment. We often use it in the plural:
"This is a good word to know, you should have no qualms about using it."
Qualm in English has nothing to do with smoke!
Etymologists aren't sure where "qualm" originated, but they do know it entered English around 1530.
Originally, it referred to a sudden sick feeling. Robert Louis Stevenson made use of this older sense in his book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: "A qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering."
Soon after "qualm" entered the language, it came to designate not only sudden attacks of illness, but also sudden attacks of emotion or principle.
Nowadays the most common meaning of "qualm" is "doubt or uneasiness", particularly in not following one's conscience or better judgment. We often use it in the plural:
"This is a good word to know, you should have no qualms about using it."
