Where does “squeamish” come from?

Squeamish derives from Middle English squeymous, from Old French escoymous, meaning easily disgusted or nauseated, though its ultimate origin remains uncertain.

squeamish (English): easily bothered or upset; tending to be nauseated...

Definitions

  1. easily bothered or upset; tending to be nauseated...

Ancestry of “squeamish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishsqueamoussqueamish
2Middle Englishsweme—
3Old Englishswimaa swoon, swimming in the head
4Proto-West Germanicswimmanto swim
5Proto-Germanicswimmanąto be unsteady; to swim; float
6Proto-Indo-Europeanswem(bʰ)-to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim

Words derived from “squeamish”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- →Every word from Proto-Germanic swimmaną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic swimman →