Link Centre Dictionary

quake

US/kweɪk/ uncommon
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

verb

1.

shake with fast, tremulous movements

  • “His nostrils palpitated”
Synonyms
2.

shake with seismic vibrations

  • “The earth was quaking”
Synonyms

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • quake grass
  • quake in one's boots
  • quake in one's shoes
  • quake lake
  • quaking asp
  • quaking grass
  • quaking pudding
  • Swift Quake

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.