Dictionary

qualmish en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈkwɑːmɪʃ/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree English qualm Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -isch English -ish English qualmish From qualm + -ish.

Meanings

1. Affected with qualms; queasy, nauseous.
   • I awoke rather qualmish, but, dressing and going upon deck, the sharp air recovered me. 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 77
   • Then, how comparatively sweet was everything on board - no paint, no tar, no new rope, (vilest of smells to the qualmish!) no grease, or oil, or varnish; but instead of these, bamboo and rattan, and coir rope and palm thatch; pure vegetable fibres, which smell pleasantly if they smell at all, and recall quiet scenes in the green and shady forest. 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 162:
   • I am plaguy qualmiſh this morning, vve drunk ſvvingingly laſt night, vvhat did vve do? tell me the Hiſtory. 1691, Tho[mas] Shadwell, The Scowrers. A Comedy, […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 1:
   • I had sought out a dark corner, since by now I did indeed feel rather qualmish inside my yellow skin. 2001, WG Sebald, translated by Anthea Bell, Austerlitz, Penguin, published 2011, page 53:

Forms

Deriveds

qualmishly · qualmishness