Aquiver

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈkwɪvɚ/

Definitions

1. Shaking or trembling slightly, often because of strong emotion or cold
2. Quivering with a slight trembling motion, usually from excitement, fear, or coldness
3. Displaying a gentle shaking or trembling sensation typically caused by nervousness, anticipation, or chill

Etymology: The "a-" in "aquiver" is the same little prefix found in "afoot," "ablaze," and "asleep." It descends from the Old English "on," meaning "in," "on," or "at," which over the centuries worn down to an unstressed "a" that was simply attached to the front of other words. English once had a great many of these forms, and most have faded from use, leaving only a handful of survivors. The base word "quiver" is the more interesting half, since it was once a noun for a container. Its ancestry is less certain, but the sense of trembling was already attached to the verb by the time English speakers wrote about it. Put the two together and you get a picture of something set into a shiver, literally "in a quiver," and the same idea gave us the older phrase for a case of arrows, which the trembling of the shafts inside it may have inspired.

Synonyms: quivering, trembling, shaking, vibrating, fluttering

Antonyms: steady, still, calm, motionless, fixed