The Only Use of
scruples
in
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- I knew well that I risked death; for any drug that so potently controlled and shook the very fortress of identity, might by the least scruple of an overdose or at the least inopportunity in the moment of exhibition, utterly blot out that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change.†
p. 85.9scruple = an ethical or moral principle that discourages certain kinds of action
Definitions:
-
(1)
(scruples) ethical or moral principles that discourage certain kinds of action
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, scruple can be used as a verb meaning "hesitate on moral grounds" as in "He lied and did not even scruple about it."
Even more rarely and archaically, at one time a scruple was a measure of weight equal to 20 grains (about 1.3 grams).