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qua·ver (kwāvər)
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v. qua·vered, qua·ver·ing, qua·vers
v.intr.
1. To quiver, as from weakness; tremble.
2. To speak in a quivering voice; utter a quivering sound.
3. Music To produce a trill on an instrument or with the voice.
v.tr.
To utter or sing in a trilling voice.
n.
1. A quivering sound.
2. Music
a. A trill.
b. An eighth note.
[Middle English quaveren, probably frequentative of cwavien, quaven, to tremble.]
quaver·ing·ly adv.
quaver·y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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