Where does “qualm” come from?
qualm (Middle Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch quellen, from Old Dutch quellen, from Proto-West Germanic kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic kwaljaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.
Ancestry of “qualm”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | quellen | to torment, to hurt, to torture |
| 2 | Old Dutch | quellen | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | kwalljan | to make suffer, to hurt |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kwaljaną | to make suffer, to hurt |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 8 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |