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quiver1

[kwiv-er]
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verb (used with or without object)
  1. to shake with a slight but rapid motion; vibrate tremulously; tremble.
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noun
  1. the act or state of quivering; a tremble or tremor.
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Origin of quiver1

1480–90; origin uncertain; compare Middle Dutch quiveren to tremble
Related formsquiv·er·er, nounquiv·er·ing·ly, adverbquiv·er·y, adjectiveun·quiv·ered, adjectiveun·quiv·er·ing, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for quiver on Thesaurus.com
1. quake, shudder, shiver. See shake. 2. shudder, shiver, shake.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for quivered

Historical Examples

  • He could free his words from the pride of life, but not his voice; it quivered and betrayed him.

    Tiverton Tales

    Alice Brown

  • From that moment, however, he quivered with anxious expectancy.

  • On catching sight of Pierre he quivered with anxiety and sprang forward.

  • At this the priest, who was looking on, suddenly understood the truth and also quivered.

  • Madden quivered at his impotence to put his hand on the thief in the crowd.

British Dictionary definitions for quivered

quiver1

verb
  1. (intr) to shake with a rapid tremulous movement; tremble
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noun
  1. the state, process, or noise of shaking or trembling
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Derived Formsquiverer, nounquivering, adjectivequiveringly, adverbquivery, adjective

Word Origin

C15: from obsolete cwiver quick, nimble; compare quaver

quiver2

noun
  1. a case for arrows
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Word Origin

C13: from Old French cuivre; related to Old English cocer, Old Saxon kokari, Old High German kohhari, Medieval Latin cucurum
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quivered

quiver

v.

"to tremble," late 15c., perhaps imitative, or possibly an alteration of quaveren (see quaver), or from Old English cwifer- (in cwiferlice "zealously"), which is perhaps related to cwic "alive" (see quick). Related: Quivered; quivering. As a noun in this sense from 1715, from the verb.

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quiver

n.

"case for holding arrows," early 14c., from Anglo-French quiveir, Old French quivre, cuivre, probably of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *kukur "container" (cf. Old High German kohhari, German Köcher, Old Saxon kokar, Old Frisian koker, Old English cocur "quiver"); "said to be from the language of the Huns" [Barnhart]. Related: Quiverful.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper