quake
/kweɪk/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms quakes quaking quaked quoke quook
- noun A trembling or shaking. “We felt a quake in the apartment every time the train went by.”
- noun An earthquake, a trembling of the ground with force. “California is plagued by quakes; there are a few minor ones almost every month.”
- noun (figurative) Something devastating, like a strong earthquake.
- verb (intransitive) To tremble or shake. “I felt the ground quaking beneath my feet.”
- verb (intransitive, figurative) To be in a state of fear, shock, amazement, etc., such as might cause one to tremble.
- proper noun The 99th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English quaken, from Old English cwacian (“to quake, tremble, chatter”), from Proto-Germanic *kwakōną (“to shake, quiver, tremble”), itself likely of imitative origin. Related to Old English cweċċan (“to shake, swing, move, vibrate, shake off, give up”) (see quitch), Dutch kwakkelen (“to ail, be ailing”), German Quackelei (“chattering”), Danish kvakle (“to bungle”), Latin vexō (“toss, shake violently, jostle, vex”), Irish bogadh (“a move, movement, shift, change”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To be agitated with quick, short motions continually repeated; to shake with fear, cold, etc.; to shudder; to tremble. Quaking for dread." Chaucer.
- verb To shake, vibrate, or quiver, either from not being solid, as soft, wet land, or from violent convulsion of any kind; as, the earth quakes; the mountains quake. " Over quaking bogs." Macaulay.
- verb To cause to quake. [Obs.] Shak.
- noun A tremulous agitation; a quick vibratory movement; a shudder; a quivering.
Etymology [AS. cwacian; cf. G. quackeln. Cf. Quagmire.]
Etymology [Cf. AS. cweccan to move, shake. See Quake, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “quake”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details