English▸ noun an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear, especially about one's own conduct; a misgiving:
military regimes generally have no qualms about controlling the press.
▪ archaic a momentary faint or sick feeling.
– ORIGIN early 16th century (in the sense ‘momentary sick feeling’): perhaps related to Old English cw(e)alm ‘pain’, of Germanic origin.