quaver

 
Pronunciation: /ˈkweɪvə/

verb

[no object]
  • (of a person’s voice) shake or tremble in speaking, typically through nervousness or emotion: his voice quavered with rage (as adjective quavering) ‘I’m not safe here, am I?’ she said in a quavering voice

noun

  • 1a shake or tremble in a person’s voice: it was impossible to hide the slight quaver in her voice
  • 2 Music, chiefly British a note having the time value of an eighth of a semibreve or half a crotchet, represented by a large dot with a hooked stem. Also called eighth note

Derivatives

quaveringly

adverb

quavery

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English (as a verb in the general sense 'tremble'): from dialect quave 'quake, tremble', probably from an Old English word related to quake. The noun is first recorded (mid 16th century) as a musical term