scruple

Scruple is a term with two principal senses. In moral and everyday usage, a scruple is a hesitation or doubt about whether a proposed action is right or proper. As a verb, to scruple means to hesitate or refrain from acting because of this moral concern. The phrase “to have scruples” denotes conscience-driven reluctance, and “to scruple at” can indicate an objection to a specific course.

In historical contexts, scruple also referred to a unit of weight in apothecaries’ measurement. A scruple equaled 20 grains and was used to measure small quantities of medicine or other substances. In that system, three scruples make a drachm, and 24 scruples make an apothecaries’ ounce. The scruple weight sense is largely obsolete in modern practice, though it appears in historical texts and discussions of pharmacology’s past.

Etymology-wise, scruple derives from Latin scrupulus, meaning “a small stone, pebble,” and by way of Old French scruple and Middle English scrupel. The word’s original sense of a small, troublesome point likely influenced its later moral meaning, suggesting the hesitation prompted by a delicate concern.