different between qualm vs uneasy

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.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?i?zi/
• Hyphenation: un?easy
• Rhymes: -i?zi

Etymology 1

From Middle English unesy, equivalent to un- +? easy. Merged with Middle English unethe, uneathe (“difficult, not easy”). See uneath.

Adjective

uneasy (comparative uneasier, superlative uneasiest)

1. (rare) Not easy; difficult.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English unesy, unaisie (“not comforting”), from un- + esy (“comfortable, at ease”). More at easy.

Adjective

uneasy (comparative more uneasy or uneasier, superlative most uneasy or uneasiest)

1. Restless; disturbed by pain, anxiety

   I've been uneasy about your friend ever since I met him. Are you sure we can trust him?

2. Not easy in manner; constrained

   Synonyms: stiff, awkward, ungraceful

   He was behaving in an uneasy way.

3. Causing discomfort or constraint

Synonyms

(restless): : See Thesaurus:nervous

Related terms

• unease

Translations