temblor

[tem-bler, -blawr, tem-blawr]

noun

plural

temblors ,

plural

temblores .

1. a tremor; earthquake.

temblor

/ ˈtɛmblə, -blɔː /

noun

1. an earthquake or earth tremor

Word History and Origins

Origin of temblor¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1895–1900; from Spanish: literally, “a quaking,” equivalent to tembl(ar) “to quake” (perhaps ultimately from Latin timēre “to fear” and Late Latin tremulāre “to quake”) + -or noun suffix; tremble, -or ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of temblor¹

C19: American Spanish, from Spanish temblar to shake, tremble

Example Sentences

The Big Bear earthquake of 1992 was the second of a one-two punch of temblors that occurred on the same day.

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That temblor significantly damaged 25 such structures, including the then-brand-new Automobile Club of Southern California building in Santa Clarita, which almost collapsed.

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Small temblors are also common around the Geysers geothermal steam field in California.

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The temblors have coincided with viral panic stemming from the 2021 reprint of a comic book that many are now interpreting as a clairvoyant prediction of a major earthquake.

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And the Santa Barbara temblor revealed just how dangerous brick buildings built in that era could be.

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Related Words

• earthquake 
• upheaval 

When To Use

What does temblor mean?

Temblor is another word for an earthquake or a tremor.A temblor can also be called a trembler or a tremblor. These terms are all less commonly used than earthquake and tremor.The plural of temblor is temblors, but temblores is also sometimes used as a plural (due to the fact that temblor came from Spanish and this is how it is pluralized in Spanish).Example: The temblor that hit the area last month shook the whole city for more than a minute.