squeamish

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈskwiːmɪʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English squaymisch,^[2][3][4] a variant, with the suffix -ish, of squaymous “disdainful, fastidious”,^[5][2][3][6] from Anglo-Norman escoymous,^{[5][2][3][4][6]} which is of unknown origin.^[2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Physically repelled; excessively fastidious (before 1398).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Chaucer used squaymous of someone fastidious about bodily matters.^[3] The sense of being easily nauseated is from about 1450,^[7] and the Century Dictionary, cited by Etymonline, suggests that the sense “slightly sick” was influenced by qualmish.^[3] The sense of being easily shocked or prudish is first recorded in 1567,^[2] and of excessive moral scruple later.^[5][4][6]

Timeline

• about 1330 – squeymous, disdainful.^[2]
• before 1398 – easily nauseated; fastidious.^[2][3]
• 1553 – averse or unwilling, now obsolete.^[7]
• 1567 – easily shocked, prudish.^[2]
• 1660 – slightly nauseated.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Easily made sick or disgusted, as at the sight of blood.
2. Easily shocked or offended; prudish.
3. Excessively scrupulous or fastidious.
4. Feeling sick; nauseated.

Word family

• squeamishly
• squeamishness

Related words

• queasy
• qualmish

Usage notes

Random House gives modest, finical, finicky, delicate and exacting as synonyms, and bold as an antonym.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press