tremble
[trem-buhl]
- to shake involuntarily with quick, short movements, as from fear, excitement, weakness, or cold; quake; quiver.
- to be troubled with fear or apprehension.
- (of things) to be affected with vibratory motion.
- to be tremulous, as light or sound: His voice trembled.
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- the act of trembling.
- a state or fit of trembling.
- trembles, (used with a singular verb)
- Pathology.milk sickness.
- Veterinary Pathology.a toxic condition of cattle and sheep caused by the eating of white snakeroot and characterized by muscular tremors.
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Origin of tremble
1275–1325; Middle English trem(b)len (v.) < Old French trembler < Vulgar Latin *tremulāre, derivative of Latin tremulus tremulous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
quiverthrobwobbleshuddershiverfluttertotterpalpitateteeterjarquakerocktremorquaveroscillatejitterExamples from the Web for trembling
Contemporary Examples
I mean literally find him, still there, an eleven-year-old boy, cold and trembling, with nowhere else to run.
Charles D’Ambrosio’s X-Ray Vision Is On Full Display In His New Essay Collection.Steve Almond
November 14, 2014
At first it was raucous, trembling with patriotism, a sea of seething yellow.
Neither Paul nor Kierkegaard were kidding when they wrote of fear and trembling.
Forty-nine-year-old Elena brings a trembling hand to the bridge of her nose and makes a slashing movement across it.
But his voice is rising and trembling, and seconds later, he begins to sob.
Historical Examples
I received the deputation with a trembling and apprehensive heart.
Pale and trembling, I pointed to the horrible staircase by which we had come.
The Roof of FranceMatilda Betham-Edwards
When she held her in her arms pressed against her breast, she felt that she was trembling.
The DreamEmile Zola
Monseigneur shook from trembling as he repeated severely the word, "Never!"
The DreamEmile Zola
When she turned back to the fireplace her hands were trembling.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
tremble
- to vibrate with short slight movements; quiver
- to shake involuntarily, as with cold or fear; shiver
- to experience fear or anxiety
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- the act or an instance of trembling
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French trembler, from Medieval Latin tremulāre, from Latin tremulus quivering, from tremere to quake
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 trembling
tremble
v.
c.1300, "shake from fear, cold, etc.," from Old French trembler "tremble, fear" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *tremulare (source of Italian tremolare, Spanish temblar), from Latin tremulus "trembling, tremulous," from tremere "to tremble, shiver, quake," from PIE *trem- "to tremble" (cf. Greek tremein "to shiver, tremble," Lithuanian trimu "to chase away," Old Church Slavonic treso "to shake," Gothic þramstei "grasshopper"). A native word for this was Old English bifian. Related: Trembled; trembling. The noun is recorded from c.1600.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper