tremulous

English

WOTD – 17 November 2006    

Etymology

From Latin tremulus, from tremō (“I shake”). Cognate to Ancient Greek τρέμω (trémō).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtrɛmjuləs/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

tremulous (comparative more tremulous, superlative most tremulous)

1. Trembling, quivering, or shaking.
   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, ch. 3:

     The trying nature of his position drove the blood from his cheek, and made his lips tremulous.

   • 1919, William MacLeod Raine, A Man Four-Square, ch. 27:

     "Thank God!" he cried brokenly, all the pent emotion of the long night vibrant in his tremulous voice.

   • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 12, Crime out of Mind^[1]:

     Light filtered in through the blinds of the french windows. It made tremulous stripes along the scrubbed pine floor.

2. Timid, hesitant, or unconfident.
   • 1891, Grant Allen, The Great Taboo, ch. 15:

     "You have lived here long?" Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat.

   • 2009 Oct. 7, Christopher Kimball, "Opinion: Gourmet to All That," New York Times (retrieved 18 Aug 2012):

     This, hard on the heels of the death of Julia Child in 2004, makes one tremulous about the future.

Synonyms

• (trembling, quivering, or shaking): quaking, shaking, trembling, tremulant
• (timid, hesitant, or unconfident): timid, wavering

Related terms

• tremble
• tremor

Translations

trembling or shaking

• Catalan: tremolós (ca)
• Finnish: tärisevä (fi), vapiseva (fi)
• Galician: trémulo (gl)

• German: zitternd (de)
• Greek: τρέμουλος (el) (trémoulos)
• Spanish: trémulo (es)

timid or unconfident

• Finnish: epävarma (fi), hermostunut (fi)

• German: ängstlich (de), furchtsam (de)