tremolo

[trem-uh-loh]

noun, plural trem·o·los. Music.

a tremulous or vibrating effect produced on certain instruments and in the human voice, as to express emotion.
a mechanical device in an organ by which such an effect is produced.

Origin of tremolo

1715–25; < Italian: trembling < Latin tremulus tremulous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tremolo

Historical Examples of tremolo

I know you affect to scorn the cinema, and this was it, tremolo and all.
Coming Home
Edith Wharton
It made you shiver to hear the tremolo stop she put on her voice.
Cabbages and Kings
O. Henry
I have since learned that the greatest violinists do not overemphasise the tremolo.
The Belovd Vagabond
William J. Locke
The tremolo and sautill displayed the delicate flexibility of his wrist.
Ole Bull
Sara C. Bull
He did his best, and sang in tremolo from "Oh, Mother, the Mariner!"
The Quest
Frederik van Eeden

British Dictionary definitions for tremolo

tremolo

noun plural -los music

1. (in playing the violin, cello, etc) the rapid repetition of a single note produced by a quick back-and-forth movement of the bow
2. the rapid reiteration of two notes usually a third or greater interval apart (fingered tremolo)Compare trill 1 (def. 1)
(in singing) a fluctuation in pitchCompare vibrato
a vocal ornament of late renaissance music consisting of the increasingly rapid reiteration of a single note
another word for tremulant

Word Origin for tremolo

C19: from Italian: quavering, from Medieval Latin tremulāre to tremble

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 tremolo

1801, from Italian tremolo, from Latin tremulus "trembling" (see tremulous).