| squeamish | Having a stomach that is easily or nauseated; hence, nice to excess in taste; fastidious; easily disgusted; apt to be offended at trifling improprieties. "Quoth he, that honor's very squeamish That takes a basting for a blemish." (Hudibras) "His muse is rustic, and perhaps too plain The men of squeamish taste to entertain." (Southern) "So ye grow squeamish, Gods, and sniff at heaven." (M. Arnold) Synonym: Fastidious, dainty, overnice, scrupulous. See Fastidious. Origin: OE. Squaimous, sweymous, probably from OE. Sweem, swem, dizziness, a swimming in the head; cf. Icel. Svemr a bustle, a stir, Norw. Sveim a hovering about, a sickness that comes upon one, Icel. Svimi a giddiness, AS. Swimi. The word has been perhaps confused witrh qualmish. Cf. Swim to be dizzy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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