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QUALM.
qu- t fhualm (MIIG. qualm anguish) ;
f. *kwal- t
ablaut-var. of *kwel- to die : see QUELE, QUELL.]
1. General or widespread mortality of men or
animals; plague, pestilence.
In OE. also used of the (violent) death of a single person.
ciooo ^ELFRIC Horn. II. 122 Micel cwealm wearS ba;s
folces. Ibid. 192 Cwealm on heora orfe. c nag O. E, Chron.
(Laud MS.) an. 1125 Hunger & cwealm on men & on erue.
t izos LAV. 31877 pe qualm muchele pe wes on moncunne.
a 1150 Owl $ Night. 1 155 Thu bodest cualm of orwe. a 1340
HAMPOLE Psalter cv. 29 And finees stode & quemyd & pe
qualm left, c 1386 CHAUCER Knt.'s T, 1156 A thousand
slayn and nat oon of qualm ystorue.
b. Loss or damage.
? a 1366 CHAUCER Rom. Rose 357 Ywys, great qualme [F.
grant morie\ ne were it noon, Ne synne, although her lyf
were gon. 1513 DOUGLAS sEneis x. L 31 Ouhen the fers
burgh of Cartage To Romys bpuiidis . . Ane nuge myscheif
and gret quhalm \ed. 1553 qualimj send sail.
2. attrib.) as qualm-house^ -stow.
c 75 Corpus Gloss. 2 Calvariac locus, cualmstou. c 1000
MLFKIC Horn. II. 254 >a cempan hine gelaeddon to Ssere
c weal m-stowe. a izzs Ancr. R. 106 pe munt of Caluarie . .
was J>e cwalmsteou. Ibid. 140 Iput in one prisune, & bitund
ase in one cwalm huse.
t Qualm,
sb." Obs. rare~~ l
. [App. imitative ;
cf. (j. galnt sound, noise.] Croak.
c 1374 CHAUCER Troylus v. 382 Augurye of thise foweles. .
As ravenes qualm, or schrychynge of thise owles.
$b$ Forms 6 quam-
: Qualm (kwam, kwgm),
me (?calme), 6-7 qualme, quaume, qua(i)me,
7quawme,quaern,6-qualm. [Of obscure origin :
in form and sense identical with Da. kvaltne,
\kvaliH) Sw. quaint, but these are app. not native
words. Cf. G. (now dial.) qualm (kahii) swoon,
faint, unconscious state (: MHG. twalm : see
DWALM sb.}, and G. qualm (whence Da. koalni^
Sw. qvalni) vapour, steam, close air.
*
OE. cwealm QUALM sbl had the sense pain ',
(see quots. in Bosw. -Toller), and some instances of qualm in
i6-i7th c. use might conceivably mean *
pain ',
'
pang '
; but
historical evidence of connexion is wanting, and the sense
of '
'
sick fit ', sickness* is possible in all the cases.]
'
torment ',
1. A (sudden) feeling or fit of faintness, illness,
or sickness. (Now restricted to cases in which
the seat of the disorder is in the stomach, but
formerly in somewhat wider use.)
c o R- COPLAND Jyl of Brentfords Test. 233 With
qualmes & stytches it doth me torment, That all my body
is tome and rent. 1565 JEWEL Repl. Harding (1611) 52
If any quame or skknesse happen to fall vpon him. 1594
T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. 11. 139 Such as haue some
quaume about their heart, so that they faint and sowne. 1683
TRYON Way to Health 27 It makes the Stomach sick.. and
sickish Qualms to arise. 1740 SOMERVILLE Hobbinol in. 219
The sickly Qualms That grieve her Soul. 18*9 LYTTON
Dcvcreitx u. v, Has the bottle bequeathed thee a qualm or
a head-ache. 1874 BURNAND My time xxxii. 326 Breeze
enough for sailing, . . no qualms to interfere with appetite.
2. transf. a. A fit of sickening fear, misgiving,
or depression ; a sudden sinking or faintness of
heart. Now rare.
a 1555 RIDLEY in Foxe A. * Cf.
Da. kvatme to have a qualm, and G. (now dial.)
qiialmcn 'kalmen} to swoon, be unconscious.]
19
f 1. intr. To have a qualm or qualms. (Cf. ]
QUALM ING vbl. s/>. and///, a.} Otis.
1565 COOPKR Thesaurus^ Deficerc^ I faynte, sounde, or
qualme for heate. 1603 FLOKIO tr. Montaigne in. xiii.
(1807) VI. 253 My stomacke begins to qualme, my head
feeleth a violent aking.
2. a. trans. To make sick. b. absol. To induce
qualms, rare.
1611 BEAUM. & FL. Scornful Lady iv. i, How I grew
qualm'd in love. 1713 Gentleman Instructed in. viii. 434
Knvy qualms on his Kowels, Prodigality on his Purse. 1884
G. H. BOUGHTON in Harper's Mag. Oct. 701/1 If one is . .
qualmed by the show of. .confectionery.
'
t v. Qualm,
perh. after G. qualmen to steam.]
2 Obs. rare - 1
. [var. of WALM,
To boil.
1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 8/2 Take thre
quartes of Lye.. and let it qualme a little on the fyer.
Qua'lminess. [f. QUALMY + -NESS.] The
condition of being qualm y ; nausea.
1778 J. ADAMS Diary 19 Feb., Wks. 1851 III. 98 The
smell of the ship, .or any other offensive smell will increase
the qualminess. 1884 Miss DILLWVN Jill II. xi. 181 The
swell made my qualminess increase.
vbl. $b. Obs. rare.
[f. QUALM
t Qua'lming,
#.!] The fact of having a qualm or qualms.
1565 COOPER Thesaurus, Defectio^ ,. the quaulmyng or
sownyng ofwomen after conception. 1596 BARROUCH Afc/.
Physick 450 It taketh away qwalming and ouercasting of
the hart.
t Qua'lming, ///. a. Obs. [f. as prec.] a.
That has a qualm or qualms, b. Of the nature of
a fit or sudden access (cf.' QUALM sb$ 2 c).
1576 FLEMING tr. Cants' Dogs in Arb. Garner III. 267 To
succour and strengthen quailing and qualming stomachs.
1635 QUARLES Embl. v. ii. 36 Let lesses sov'raigne Flow'r
perfume my qualming brest.
16^3 MILTON Divorce Introd.
(1851) 6 Till they get a little cordial sobriety to settle their
qualming zeal.
: Qualmire see QUALLMIBE.
Qualmish, (kwa'mij, kwg'mij), a.
[f. QUALM
sb.t + -ISH!.]
1. Of : persons Affected with a qualm or qualms ;
to be so affected.
tending, or liable,
1548 UDALL Erasm. Par. Luke Pref. 3 Our soule is
ouer this meate. 1599 SHAKS. Hen. V> v. i. 22,
?ualmishe am qualmish at the smell of Leeke. 1670 DRYDEN Tyran.
Lffue iv. L Qualmish and loathing all you had before : Yet
with a sickly Appetite to more. 1748 SMOLLETT Rod,
Rand. Ixix, My dear ange! has been qualmish of late. 1816
SCOTT Fam. Lett. 25 Dec. (1804) I. xii. 388 The . .dog arrived
.. a little lean and qualmish however after his sea voyage.
1860 MOTLEY Netherl. (1868) I. viii. 521 Elizabeth was not
desirous of peace . . she was qualmish at the very suggestion.
2. Of feelings, etc. : Of the nature of a qualm.
1798 Sporting Mag. XII. 195, I began to feel some very
qualmish symptoms. 1860 1'. MARTIN Horace 217 Our
qualmish sickness drown In Caecuban divine !
3. Of things : Apt to produce qualms, rare.
1826 DISRAELI Viv. Creyvi. i, It is like a qualmish liqueur
in the midst of a bottle of wine.
Hence Qua'lmislily (/./;-. ; Qualmishness.
a 1650 MAY Satir. Puppy (1657) 105 She would be as
leacherous as the Mountaine-Goate, had not Natures
qualmishnesse proved a strong contradiction to her desire.
1844 ALB. SMITH Adv. Mr. Ledbury ii. (1886) 8 On approaching
the Foreland the first sensations of qualmishness became
apparent. _ 1845 W. CORY Lett. $ Jrnls. (1897) 32 Thinking
about it keenly and qualmishly.
Qualmy (kwa'mi, kwjxmi), a. Also 6 quamie.
[f. QUALM sb$ + = -Y.] QUALMISH.
in hole
1563 LEIGH Artnorie (1597) 120 Neyther abounding
desire, neither oppressed with quamie colde. 1600 S.
NICHOLSON Acolaslus (1876) 38 Astonisht in a qualmy
traunce. 1846 LANUOR Exam. Shaks. Wks. II. 274, I myself
did feel queerish and qualmy. 1884 Miss DILLWYN Jill
II. xi. 178 The mere smell of it makes one feel qualmy.
Hence Qua imyish a., somewhat qnalmy.
1831 Blackw. Mag. XXX. 975 With a queerish and
qualmyish feeling.
also written
II Qualtagh
(kwa-Hax). [Manx,
quaaltagh, \. quaail (= Ir. and Gael, comhdhail)
meeting.] The first person one meets after leaving
home on some special occasion ; also, the
first person entering a house on New Year's Day,
the first-foot.
1891 MOORE Folk-lore Isle ofMan 103 It was considered
fortunate if the qualtagh were a person .. of dark complexion.
1894 HALL CAINE Manxman 59, 1 should be firstfoot
here, only I'm no use as a qualtagh.
Quam, obs. form of WHOM.
Quamash (kwamse-J, kwg'mzep. See also
CAMAS. [N. American Indian.] A North American
liliaceous plant (Camasria esculenta], the bulbs
of which are used for food by the American
Indians. Eastern qnamash (see quot. 1868).
1814 Lewis y Clarke's Exp. (1893) 958 The Chopunnish
are now dispersed in villages, .for the purpose of collecting
quamash. 1868 Rep. U. S. Commissioner Agric. (1869)452
The plant [Camus] is otherwise known as the eastern
quamash, or wild hyacinth, and in botanical nomenclature is
Scilla Fraseri. 1882 Garden 13 May 323/3 The white
Camassia..[is] not nearly so showy as the blue Quamash.
Quame, var. of QUEMK, v. ; obs. f. QUALM sb.
tQuamire. Obs. Also 6 -myre, -mier, 8
fftuTwhftmlre. [?var. of quail- or quffvemirt'.
see QUAGMIRE, and cf. Sc. s.v.
quaiv-mirc QTJAW.]
A quagmire, bog. Alsoy^ r .
1555 KIJKN Dcfatfts 99 Muddy marysshus full of suche
qimmyrcs lhat mun are oflentymes bwalowtd vp in them.
QUANT.
. . burieth them in a quamire. 1703 THOKKSBY Let. to Kay
27 Apr. (E. D. S.i, lykamire, a quagmire.
Quamoclit (kwae-m^klit). [Corruption of
Mexican quamo'chitl (c/i t^, f. qua- t comb, form
of quaiuti tree. + -motkitl t of unknown meaning.
The erroneous form guatnoclit^ found as early as 1689 in
Tournefort's Schola Rotanica^ is the basis of imaginary
etymologies from Greek and Sanskrit,]
A sub-genus of climbing plants with brilliant
flowers found in the tropical parts of America
and Asia, belonging to the genus Ipomaa. (For-
merly regarded as a distinct genus.)
1731 MILLER Card. Diet. s.
y., Quamoclit with very fine,
cut, winged Leaves, .. called in Barbadoes Sweet-William.
"753 CHAMBERS Cycl, 6"t//., The species of quamoclit,
enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are these [etc.]. fbid, t
Quamoclit differs from bindweed, or convolvulus, in the
shape of the flower. 1755 Gentl. Mag. XXV. 408 As to
specimens 1 sent you ofthe bastard quamoclit [printed
quarnoclifj. 1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 193/1 Quamoclit ..
vulgaris is common in every part of India. 1892 BENTHAM
& HOOKER Brit. Flora (ed. 6) 305 The exotic genus Ipomcea,
including Pharbitis and Quamoclit.. supplies some of our
most beautiful greenhouse and hothouse climbers.
Quan, obs. form of GUAN, WHEN.
sb. Also
Quandary (kwnde**ri, kwg'ndari),
6 quandare, -arye, 6-7 -arie, 8-9 quondary.
[Of unknown ; in common use from c \
origin 580.
Possibly a corruption of some term of scholastic Latin.
The suggestions that it is ad.F. qu'en dirai-je 'what shall
I say of it? 1
that it represents ME. wandreth, or is an
abbrev. of hypochondry^ are (apart from other considera-
tions) condemned by the fact that the original stressing is
quanda'ry. Recent diets, favour qua'ndary, given by Jonnson
(who calls it '
a low word ') and Webster, but not accepted
by Sheridan, Walker, or Smart.]
A state of extreme perplexity or uncertainty ;
a dilemma causing (great) mental agitation or distress
; fa ticklish plight. Freq. in phr. in a
(great, sad, etc.) quandary.
1579 LYLY Euphues (Arb.) 45 Euphues.. departed, leaving
this olde gentleman in a great quandarie. i$8a STANY-
HURST &neis iv. (Arb.) 94 The Queene in meane while
with carks quandare deepe anguisht [etc.]. 1611 BEAUM. &
FL. Knt. Burn. Pestle \.
i, Much I fear, forsaking of my
diet, Will bring me presently to that quandary, I shall bid
all adieu. 1652 C. B. STAPYLTON Herodian xvi. 135 The
Nobles, Gentry, Souldiers in . . quandaries To Turret tops
he fetches more Vagaries, a 1740 SHEFFIELD (Dk. Buckhm.)
IVks. (1729) 201 Apollo now driv'n to a cursed Quandary
was wishing for Swift, or for fam'd Lady Mary. 1751
SMOLLETT Per. Pic. I. ii. (1779) 9 Thof he be sometimes
thrown into perilous passions ana ' l! ''
quandaries. 1847
RAELI Tancred u. iv, All his quandaries terminated in the
same catastrophe ; a compromise. 1875 JOWETT Plato (ed. 2)
I. 229 Now I was in a great quandary at having to answer
this question.
t Quandary, v. Obs. rare. [f. prec.] a. trans.
To perplex, put in a quandary, b. intr. To be
in a quandary.
1616 T. ADAMS Soul's Sickness Wks. 1861 I. 505 He quandaries,
whether to goe forward to God, or, with Demas, to
turne backe to the world. x68i OTWAY Soldier s Fort* in. i,
Methinks I am quandary'd like one going with a Party to
discover the Enemy's Camp, but had lost his Guide upon
the Mountains.
Quandong (kwarncVrj, kwg-n-). Also quandang,
-dung, quon(g)dong, quantong. [Aboriginal
Australian.] a. An Australian tree of
the sandal-wood order (Fusanus acuminatus or
Santalum acuminatunt), or its edible drupaceous
fruit, which is of a blue colour and about the size
of a cherry ; also called native peachy-tree}, b.
A large Australian scrub-tree {Eleocarpus gi'andis))
or its fruit. Also attrib., as quandong-nut , -tree.
1839 T. L. MITCHELL 3 Exped. 135 (Morris) In all these
the Fusanus acuminatus is common,
scrubs on the Murray
and produces the quandang nut. 1850 CLUTTERBUCK Port
Phillip 1 1. 30 The . . indigenous Quandang is the only really
palatable fruit that grows in the wilds of Port Phillip. 1857
W. HOWITT Tallangetta I. 41 (Morris) Abundance of fig ..
trees, cherries, loquots, quondongs. 1859 H. KINCSLEY G.
Hamlyn xxx. (1894) 279 Such quantongs, such raspberries,
surpassing imagination. 1887 FARRELL How he Died 20
Where barren fig-tree and. .quandong Bloom on lone roads.
Quann(e, obs. forms of WHEN.
Quannet (kwg-net). Also quonet. [Of obscure
origin.] A flat file set in a frame, and used
as a plane in filing
flat surfaces, as in comb-making.
1842 WHITTOCK Complete Book of Trades 225 The combm-ikers
use a tool.. called a quonet, having coarse single
teeth, to the number of about seven or eight to an inch.
1875 KNIGHT Diet. Mech. 1842/1 Qnannet.
Quanon, variant of KANOON.
Quant (kwsent, kwont), sb. Also 5 quante,
(qv-), whante, 9 quont. [? ad. L. contus (Gr.
OI/TOS) boat-pole. Current in E. Anglia and Kent
(in the latter also 'a young oak -sapling, a walk-
ing-stick ') : the northern equivalent is KENT st>*]
A pole for propelling a boat, esp. one with a flat
cap to prevent it sinking in the mud, used by bargemen
on the east coast.
^1440 Prontp. Parv. 418/2 Quante, or sprete, rodde..,
contus. Ibid, 523/2 Whante, or qvante. 1687 SHADWELL
Juvenal 38 Contus signifies a Quant or Sprt.-tt, with which
they shove Boats. 1847-78 in HALLIWEI.L. 1883 G. C.
3-2