- scruple (n.)
- 1520s, from O.Fr. scrupule (14c.), from L. scrupulus "uneasiness, anxiety, pricking of conscience," lit. "small sharp stone," dim. of scrupus "sharp stone or pebble," used figuratively by Cicero for a cause of uneasiness or anxiety, probably from the notion of having a pebble in one's shoe. The verb meaning "to have or make scruples" is attested from 1620s. A more literal L. sense of "small unit of weight or measurement" is attested in English from late 14c.