Tremore

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A quick involuntary shaking or trembling of the body or of something physical, often caused by fear, cold or weakness
2. The act of quivering or vibrating rapidly, as a body or object does when it is unsteady or moved by a force
3. An unsteady shaking movement, a tremor, felt in a person or thing that is trembling from emotion or instability

Etymology: "Tremore" is Italian, meaning a trembling or tremor, and it comes from Latin "tremor," a noun of action built on the verb "tremere," to tremble or shake. The Latin "-or" ending, which marks a state or action, became "-ore" in Italian, so the Italian form is a fairly direct descendant of its Latin source. The same root reaches English by several routes. "Tremor" was taken straight from Latin, while "tremble" came through Old French from the Latin "tremulus," a close relative of "tremere." Another Latin derivative, "tremendus," meant "to be trembled at" and gave English "tremendous," which once described something that inspired dread rather than something merely large.