Quavened

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To produce a trembling or shaking sound, especially in the voice ; to speak or sing with a wavering, trembling tone ; to emit quivering sounds often due to nervousness or emotion
2. To express vocally with a trembling quality that indicates instability or fear ; to sound out words or notes with a shaking effect caused by apprehension or weakness ; to deliver speech or music with a fluctuating, shaky tone
3. To create a faltering vocal effect marked by quivering or shaking ; to utter words or notes in a vibrato or tremulous manner often reflecting emotion or frailty ; to produce a voice that oscillates uncontrollably as in nervousness or uncertainty

Etymology: Trembling voices have been called "quavering" for centuries, and "quaven" is a less common variant of that same verb. It probably comes from a Germanic root linked to words in Dutch and German for wobbling or shaking, and it carries the same sense of a voice or note wavering under fear, weakness, or strain. The form "quavened" is the past tense of "quaven." Its ending "-en" belongs to the verb itself, so the past tense adds "-ed" to an already verbal form. This is a standard pattern in English verbs, though this particular variant is rare enough that it appears mostly in older or literary writing.