Quaked

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Moved or shook with a sudden trembling motion
2. Experienced a rapid and involuntary shaking
3. Underwent a sudden vibration or quivering movement

Etymology: "Quaked" is the simple past and past participle of "quake," so the history belongs to the verb itself. Its ancestor was Old English "cwacian," meaning to quake, tremble or chatter, which passed into Middle English as "quaken." The Proto-Germanic form, "*kwakōną," meant to shake, quiver or tremble, and it is generally thought to be imitative, with the sound of the word mirroring the trembling it describes. The same root is visible in a surprising range of related words. Old English "cweċċan" meant to shake, swing or give up, and it is the source of the English "quitch," a word for couch grass that is connected to the same idea of shaking and moving. Across the Germanic languages, relatives include Dutch "kwakkelen," meaning to ail or be sickly, and German "Quackelei," meaning chattering. Even Latin "vexō," meaning to toss, shake violently or vex, belongs to a related family of meanings.

Synonyms: trembled, shook

Antonyms: stabilized, calmed