different between fright vs qualm

English

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: fr?t, IPA^(key): /f?a?t/
• Rhymes: -a?t
• (Canada, Northern US) IPA^(key): /f??it/

Etymology 1

From Middle English fright, furht, from Old English fryhtu, fyrhto (“fright, fear, dread, trembling, horrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *furht?? (“fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *pr?k- (“to fear”).

Cognate with Scots fricht (“fright”), Old Frisian fruchte (“fright”), Low German frucht (“fright”), Middle Dutch vrucht, German Furcht (“fear, fright”), Danish frygt (“fear”), Swedish fruktan (“fear, fright, dread”), Gothic ???????????????????????????????? (faurhtei, “fear, horror, fright”). Compare possibly Albanian frikë (“fear, fright, dread, danger”).

Noun

fright (countable and uncountable, plural frights)

1. A state of terror excited by the sudden appearance of danger; sudden and violent fear, usually of short duration; a sudden alarm.
2. Anything strange, ugly or shocking, producing a feeling of alarm or aversion.
   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I:

     Her maids were old, and if she took a new one,

     You might be sure she was a perfect fright;

     She did this during even her husband's life

     I recommend as much to every wife.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

fright (third-person singular simple present frights, present participle frighting, simple past and past participle frighted)

1. (archaic, transitive) To frighten.

Derived terms

• befright

Etymology 2

Probably short for affright, from Middle English afright, from Old English ?fyrht, past participle of ?fyrhtan (“to make afraid; terrify”).

Adjective

fright (comparative more fright, superlative most fright)

1. (rare) frightened; afraid; affright

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

fright

1. Alternative form of frith

References

• “frith, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-04.

Etymology 2

From Old English fryhtu, from earlier fyrhtu, from Proto-Germanic *furht??.

Alternative forms

• fri?t, freyhte, fyrht, furht, frigt, fry?t

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?frixt(?)/, [?friçt(?)]

Noun

fright (plural *frightes)

1. A fright or scare.

Related terms

• frighten
• frightful (rare)
• frighti (rare)
• frightly (rare)

Descendants

• English: fright
• Scots: fricht

References

• “fright, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.

English

Alternative forms

• calm (dialectal)

Etymology

Perhaps from Middle English qualm, cwalm (“death, sickness, plague”), which is from Old English cwealm (West Saxon: "death, disaster, plague"), ?tcualm (Anglian: "utter destruction"), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalm (“killing, death, destruction”), from Proto-Indo-European *g?elH- (“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.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /kw?m/, /kw?m/, /kw?lm/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kw??m/, /kw??m/

Noun

qualm (plural qualms)

1. A feeling of apprehension, doubt, fear etc. [from 16th c.]
2. A sudden sickly feeling; queasiness. [from 16th c.]
3. A prick of the conscience; a moral scruple, a pang of guilt. (Now often in negative constructions.) [from 17th c.]

4. (archaic, Britain dialectal) Mortality; plague; pestilence.
5. (archaic, Britain dialectal) A calamity or disaster.

Synonyms

• compunction
• misgiving
• scruple
• unease/uneasiness
• See Thesaurus:apprehension

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

qualm (third-person singular simple present qualms, present participle qualming, simple past and past participle qualmed)

1. (intransitive) To have a sickly feeling.

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “qualm”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Middle English

Alternative forms

• cwalm, cualm, qwalm, qualme

Etymology

From Old English cwealm, from Proto-West Germanic *kwalm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwalm/

Noun

qualm

1. Plague, disease or sickness; that which afflicts.
2. The effects, fruits, or ravages of plague.
3. (rare) Killing (as a concept or as an instance)

Descendants

• English: qualm (possibly)
• Scots: qualm (possibly)

References

• “qualm, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-12.