Etymology dictionary. 2014.
Quaver — Qua ver, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Quavered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Quavering}.] [OE. quaven to shake, to tremble; cf. LG. quabbeln to shake, to be soft, of fat substances, quabbe a fat lump of flesh, a dewlap, D. kwabbe, and E. quiver, v.] 1. To tremble;… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Quaver — Qua ver, v. t. To utter with quavers. [1913 Webster] We shall hear her quavering them . . . to some sprightly airs of the opera. Addison. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Quaver — Qua ver, n. 1. A shake, or rapid and tremulous vibration, of the voice, or of an instrument of music. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mus.) An eighth note. See {Eighth}. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
quaver — index beat (pulsate) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
quaver — vb *shake, tremble, shudder, quake, totter, quiver, shiver, wobble, teeter, shimmy, dither Analogous words: falter, waver, vacillate, *hesitate: vibrate, fluctuate, sway (see SWING) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
quaver — ► VERB ▪ (of a voice) tremble. ► NOUN 1) a tremble in a voice. 2) Music, chiefly Brit. a note having the value of an eighth of a semibreve or half a crotchet, represented by a large dot with a hooked stem. DERIVATIVES quavery adjective. ORIGIN … English terms dictionary
quaver — [kwā′vər] vi. [ME quaveren, freq. of Early ME cwafien, to shake, tremble < OE * cwafian, prob. < IE base * gwēbh , wobbly, flabby, tadpole > Ger quappe & Du kwabbe, tadpole] 1. to shake or tremble 2. to be tremulous: said of the voice 3 … English World dictionary
quaver — I UK [ˈkweɪvə(r)] / US [ˈkweɪvər] verb [intransitive] Word forms quaver : present tense I/you/we/they quaver he/she/it quavers present participle quavering past tense quavered past participle quavered if your voice quavers, it is not steady… … English dictionary
quaver — [[t]kwe͟ɪvə(r)[/t]] quavers, quavering, quavered 1) VERB If someone s voice quavers, it sounds unsteady, usually because they are nervous or uncertain. Her voice quavered and she fell silent. Syn: tremble N COUNT Quaver is also a noun. There was… … English dictionary
quaver — [15] Quaver was derived from an earlier and now obsolete Middle English quave ‘tremble’. This was of Germanic origin (Low German has the related quabbeln ‘tremble’), and probably started life as a vocal realization of the action of trembling. The … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
