Qualm

Meaning

smoke, particularly when very dense or regarded as unpleasant; fume

Concepts

fume

smoke

smolder

smother

thick smoke

Synonyms

Rauch

Dunst

Dunstschleier

Translations

fumo

fumée

duman

humo

fumo

fumée épaisse

dû

dûman

fumée dense

vapeur épaisse

καπνός

damp

fumaça

vapor

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kvalm/

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Low German: quallem

Cognate with Dutch: kwalm

Cognate with Old High German: twalm

Cognate with Old English: dwolma

In summary

16th century, from Middle Low German quallem (“vapor, steam, smoke”). Cognate with Dutch kwalm. Usually considered a derivative of quellen (“to well, swell up”).
Alternatively with the common Low and Central German development dw-, tw- → qu- (as in quer, Quark etc.) from Old Saxon dwalm (“benumbment, bemusement”), cognate of Old High German twalm, Old English dwolma. Further from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeuə- (“spray, swirl, whirl”). However, the documented meanings seem to speak against this.

Sentences

Dichter Qualm entwich aus dem Schornstein .

Dense smoke escaped from the chimney.