Scru·ple n.
1. A weight of twenty grains; the third part of a dram.
2. Hence, a very small quantity; a particle.
I will not bate thee a scruple. --Shak.
3. Hesitation as to action from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; unwillingness, doubt, or hesitation proceeding from motives of conscience.
He was made miserable by the conflict between his tastes and his scruples. --Macaulay.
To make scruple, to hesitate from conscientious motives; to scruple. --Locke.