Where does “qualm” come from?
Qualm comes from Middle English qualm, from Old English cwealm, from Proto-West Germanic kwalm, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- meaning to engulf or swallow.
qualm (English): A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc; A...
Definitions
- A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc; A...
Ancestry of “qualm”, step by step
qualm traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Dutch kwalm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | kwalm | steam, vapor, mist; thick smoke, billow |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | qualm | — |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | quellen | to torment, to hurt, to torture |
| 4 | Old Dutch | quellen | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kwalljan | to make suffer, to hurt |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kwaljaną | to make suffer, to hurt |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via Middle English qualm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | qualm | Plague, disease or sickness; that which afflicts;... |
| 2 | Old English | cwealm | death; slaughter, plague, pestilence |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | kwalm | killing, murder |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kwalmaz | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷolH-mos | — |
via German qualm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | qualm | smoke, particularly when very dense or regarded as unpleasant; fume |