Tremulate

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. To shake or vibrate with a slight, rapid motion
2. To move with a trembling or quivering effect
3. To undergo a delicate shaking or oscillation

Etymology: "Tremulate" is a back-formation from "tremulation," meaning the word was created by stripping an ending off an existing noun and treating the remainder as a verb. "Tremulation" is the older and more established form: it names the act or state of trembling, and English speakers, working from that noun, produced the shorter verb "tremulate" to describe the action of trembling. Back-formations of this kind are a common way English gains verbs, and the pattern works in the opposite direction from the usual one, where a verb is extended into a noun. The word stays close to its source in meaning. It describes something that quivers or shakes slightly, such as a voice or a light, and its trembling sense is carried over directly from the noun. Because the verb was formed from a noun already built on the Latin "tremulus," meaning "trembling," the word's sense of quivering runs straight through its whole history.

Synonyms: trembling, tremulous, quivering

Antonyms: steady, still