quiver
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
noun
-
a case for holding or carrying arrows.
-
the arrows in such a case.
verb
noun
noun
Related Words
See shake.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quiver1
First recorded in 1480–90; origin uncertain; compare Middle Dutch quiveren “to tremble”
Origin of quiver2
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French quiveir, variant of Old French quivre; perhaps < Germanic; compare Old English cocer quiver
Explanation
Scaredy cats around the globe know that quivering is a trembling, shaking motion. A cold gust of wind might make you quiver, as would an icy glare from the abominable snowman. The verb to quiver means to shudder, wobble, or vibrate, often from fear. But the noun quiver? It's actually the carrying case for your arrows, just the kind of thing Robin Hood would have strapped to his back. So imagine one of his arrows sailing through the air, hitting a tree with a hearty whack!, and then quivering there for a few seconds.
Vocabulary lists containing quiver
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Of Mice and Men"
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"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In “A Bit of Light,” distributed by Quiver, Paquin stars as a woman named Ella struggling to reconnect with her two daughters.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2024
At 100 million, according to figures from data platform Quiver Quantitative, Threads' base stands at less than a third of the 350 million regular users that Twitter is believed to have.
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2023
The Quiver to the Bomb casts the climate crisis as Mother Nature inventing humanity out of loneliness, then “kicking us off her land”.
From The Guardian • Mar. 11, 2020
His son, Peter, followed in his father's path, going into advertising for years before achieving his own success as a novelist with his 2008 debut, "Quiver."
From Seattle Times • Aug. 20, 2013
For I drove the Ace and sent him just as fast as he could pace it, At the big black line of timber stretching fair across the track, And he shot beside the Quiver.
From The Man from Snowy River by Paterson, A. B. (Andrew Barton)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
