Qualm
<B>1.</B> Sickness, disease, pestilence, or death.
As in 'A thousand slain and not of qualm ystorve [not dead of sickness]' (Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales) <B>2.</B> A sudden sick feeling.
As in 'A qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering.' (Robert Louis Stevenson in 'Dr.
Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde') <B>3.</B> Today, a sudden attack of emotion or principle, particularly in not following one's conscience or better judgment