quavern.
/ˈkweɪvə/, U.S. /ˈkweɪvər/ 1. Music. A shake or trill, esp. in singing. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > [noun] > trilling
quaver1533
quavering1577
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > ornament > [noun] > trill
quaver1533
trill1649
trillo1651
shake1659
trillado1721
Pralltriller1841
trillet1867
pincé1876
roll1880
tremblement1884
1533 T. Elyot Pasquil the Playne f. 11v It is no faulte, but a quauer in musike and became the bell, if they had the witte to perceyue it.
1593 H. Peacham Garden of Eloquence (rev. ed.) 48 Epizeuxis..may be compared to the quauer in Musicke, in respect of sorrow.
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. E7 I heard a certaine French man who sung very melodiously with curious quauers.
1661 O. Felltham Resolves (rev. ed.) 258 Unlike a quaver on an Instrument, it is not there a grace, but a jar in Musick.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 29. ¶11 A Voice so full of Shakes and Quavers that I should have thought the Murmurs of a Country Brook the much more agreeable Musick.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 361. ¶6 Whether we consider the Instrument [sc. the Cat-call] it self, or those several Quavers and Graces which are thrown into the playing of it.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. xxii. 364 The people..attend solely to their quavers, without heeding the substance of what they sing.
1818 Ld. Byron Beppo ii. 2 There are songs and quavers, roaring, humming.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island v. xxiii. 186 A..sailor's song, with a droop and a quaver at the end of every verse.
1928 M. Metfessel Phonophotogr. in Folk Music 22 All the twists, quavers, trills, breaks in the voice, quick slurs, erratic tempi and other similar features..are..what phonophotography will reveal.
1991 Entertainm. Weekly 7 June 61/2 On her second album..Willis engages in a form of progressive country theater, packing as many quavers and sobs into a tune as the song allows.
2. Music. A note having a duration equal to half that of a crotchet and an eighth that of a semibreve; a symbol representing this (now usually drawn ♪). Also figurative.In the United States usually called an eighth note (see eighth adj. 3).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > [noun] > quaver
quaver1556
demi-crotchet1659
eighth note1889
eighth1956
1556 Bk. Hawking sig. Jiv One mynyme conteyneth foure quauers.
1562 T. Sternhold et al. Whole Bk. Psalmes sig. ✠vv The firste of these is called a Large: the second a Long. The third a Brief the fourth a Semibrief: the fift a Minime: the sixt a Crochet: The seuenth and laste a Quauer.
c1570 Art of Music (BL Add. 4911) f. 1v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) The quaver is a figur lik the curchet havand ane cruik in rycht part.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke Annot. sig. ¶4 Who inuented the Crotchet, Quauer, and Semiquauer is vncerraine [sic].
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) ii. xii. §1. 327 I will not strictly examine euery crochet and quauer.
1659 J. Leak tr. I. de Caus New Inventions Water-works 31 Demi-crochets or Quavers, whereof there are sixteen in one measure.
1706 A. Bedford Temple Musick viii. 165 The greatest Part..is sung in Short Notes..and are Prickt with Quavers.
1789 E. Darwin Bot. Garden: Pt. II ii. 60 And then the third on four concordant lines Prints the lone crotchet, and the quaver joins.
1818 T. Busby Gram. Music 69 A quaver is only one quarter as long as a Minim.
1866 C. Engel Introd. Study National Music iii. 90 A slight alteration of the melody..such as a substitution of two quavers for a crotchet.
1916 G. Grove Dict. Music V. 7/1 The white forms of these notes soon fell into disuse, and the black ones have become the crotchet and quaver of modern music.
1988 Early Music 16 595 Unfortunately, the most exciting moment.., where the quavers should be divided into semiquavers, is completely missed.
2000 Opera Now Jan. 91/2 What we get is a very well-prepared, even somewhat cautious, study of the score with every quaver in place and every note played.
3. A quivering or trembling movement; a tremor. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > vibration > [noun] > trembling or quivering > a tremble or quiver
quavea1382
tremble1610
tremor1635
motitation1649
vibration1650
quaver1736
quiver1786
whither1825
shudder1865
1736 H. Brooke Universal Beauty v. 136 Tissu'd wing its folded membrane frees, And with blithe quavers fans the gath'ring breeze.
1757 P. Bacon Tryal of Time-killers iv. i. 56 Very odd and uncommon hystericks..attended with beatings at the heart, and a sort of a convulsive shake and quaver upon the nerves.
1847 J. K. Paulding Bucktails v. ii. 79 Ill luck follows me like an intermitting faver—a little space of health, and then slap-dash comes the quaver again.
1881 R. L. Stevenson Eng. Admirals in Virginibus Puerisque 208 The worth of such actions is not a thing to be decided in a quaver of sensibility.
1951 J. Agee Morning Watch iii. 114 The tip of the tail would give one last quaver and the snake would lie still for ever.
2000 N. D. Hansen-Hill Fire (2005) 65 Lily had been suppressing her own fears to a mere quaver.
4. A shake or tremble in the voice; a tremulous cry or sound.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [noun] > tremulous quality
trilla1704
quaver1748
tremble1779
tremor1797
falter1834
shake1859
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. xvi. 101 [She] drew a sigh into two or three but just audible quavers.
1833 H. Martineau Tale of Tyne iii. 53 There was..a quaver of the voice which belied what he said.
1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights I. 94 Silas, with a quaver, admitted that he had done so.
1904 H. James Golden Bowl II. xxxiii. 164 She had talked..even with a small quaver that overstated her calm.
1987 A. Pryce-Jones Bonus of Laughter vii. 82 Her voice had a delicious quaver—no, not quaver, an undulation rather, in it.
2001 R. Audi in M. Steup Knowl., Truth, & Duty vi. 95 Perhaps in an instant I notice his eyes watering and hear a quaver in his voice.
Compounds
quaver rest n. Music a rest or pause lasting the length of a quaver.
ΚΠ
1633 H. Hawkins Partheneia Sacra 146 What a melodie and most delicious sound it makes? which being conioyned with vnequal pauses, but yet distinct, with certain quauer-rests.
a1799 J. Randall Coll. Psalm & Hymn Tunes (1800) 4 Count one Beat for each Quaver Rest.
1856 Musical Times Aug. 276/1 It is incredible how difficult it is to prevent trumpet-players from doubling the value of a quaver-rest thus placed.
1924 Times 28 Mar. 17/4 Parratt could expatiate on the beauty of a quaver rest or the exact value of a dotted note.
2000 C. Lawson Early Clarinet 117 Here Weber's phrase marking extends across two quaver rests in the clarinet part in bar 81.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
quaverv.
/ˈkweɪvə/, U.S. /ˈkweɪvər/ 1.
a. intransitive. To vibrate, tremble, quiver; to move with a quivering or tremulous motion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > vibration > vibrate [verb (intransitive)] > tremble or quiver
shiverc1250
tremble1303
lillec1400
tryllec1400
quaver?a1439
didderc1440
dadderc1450
whitherc1450
bever1470
dindle1470
brawl1489
quiver1490
quitter1513
flichter1528
warble1549
palsy1582
quoba1586
twitter1629
dither1649
verberate1652
quibble1721
dandera1724
tremulate1749
vibrate1757
dingle1787
nidge1803
tirl1825
reel1847
shudder1849
tremor1921
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > with vibration
whirra1400
hotterc1650
tremble1730
vibrate1756
flick1853
quaver1943
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) viii. 947 Whos double wheel quauereth euer in doute.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 114 (MED) Alas, ffor joy I qwedyr and qwake!
1477 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 498 It semythe þat the worlde is alle qwaveryng.
1538 Bp. J. Longland Serm. Good Frydaye sig. G.iiiv Dyd not the vayle of the temple rente in twayne? Dyd not the earth quauer and quaake through the worlde?
1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 2nd Pt. sig. F8 Their fingers made to quauer on a Lute.
1596 C. Fitzgeffry Sir Francis Drake sig. D3v Making their hulkes to caper in the skies, And quaver in the aire their Argos-eies.
1629 J. Gaule Distractions 206 Tongue stammers, lips quauer.
1692 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 571 The earthquake was so severe..that the streets quavered like the waves of the sea.
a1734 J. Clarke tr. Ovid Metamorphoses (1735) 181 After Boreas had said these things..he shook his wings..and the wide sea quavered.
1758 Polite Songster 55 How the pendant spangles quaver O'er my wig of powder-blue!
1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 123 Like rivers over reeds Which quaver in the current.
1887 R. L. Stevenson Misadv. J. Nicholson ii. 4 The breeze..set the flames of the street-lamps quavering.
1943 A. Ransome Picts & Martyrs xv. 144 The three-cornered white flag..quavered up to the masthead.
1953 C. Mackenzie Passionate Elopement xxx. 270 Old Tabrum would quaver in from time to time to survey the comfort of his guests, regaling them with some particularly choice floral anecdote.
1996 J. C. Oates We were Mulvaneys 20 On the far side of the driveway the orchard, mostly Winesap apples, massed in the dark and the leaves quavering with wind.
b. intransitive. Of a sound, esp. the voice: to shake or tremble.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [verb (intransitive)] > tremble
trill1667
quaver1727
wobble1885
1727 A. Pope Mem. of P. P. in J. Swift et al. Misc. II. 273 When I raised the Psalm, how did my Voice quaver for fear!
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 43 That melodious Voice praying for me..still hangs upon my Ears, and quavers upon my Memory.
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 401 His fine voice quavered.
1867 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighbourhood I. i. 3 When my voice quavers.
1891 Harper's Mag. Feb. 378/2 More than once the echo of laughter quavered off into strange sounds that the ear shrank to hear.
1905 E. M. Forster Where Angels fear to Tread i. 21 Her voice began to quaver.
1967 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 23 Jan. 24 Electric sounds quavered over the cold deep wood paneling of the Mills concert hall.
2004 M. Goldsmith Beatles come to Amer. v. 72 His voice quavered and cracked and he needed several takes just to get through the song.
2.
a. intransitive. To sing, play, or speak with a trembling or vibratory tone; to trill; to warble.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > sing [verb (intransitive)] > trill
warble1530
quaver1538
freddon1589
firdon16..
trill1667
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Vibrisso, To quauer in syngynge.
a1592 H. Smith in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David (1886) VII. Ps. cxxxvi. 1 Like a nightingale, which..quavers and capers, and trebles upon it.
1596 M. Drayton Tragicall Legend Robert Duke of Normandy sig. B2 The towring Larke..quauers in the ayre.
1665 R. Brathwait Comment Two Tales Chaucer 23 He quavers in his musical Aires melodiously.
1684 tr. H. C. Agrippa Vanity Arts & Sci. (new ed.) liv. 147 In Singing also the Italians Bleat, the Spaniards Whine, the Germans Howl, and the French Quaver.
1793 M. Barker Welsh Story I. xv. 217 Women are got into a most horrid way of stretching their mouths open, and squalling out what nobody can understand; and quavering, like nothing under the sun.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. v. 96 One poor singer, quavering, like Orpheus of old, to the trees.
1863 Winnie Malone 61 The bird took up the strain anew, and warbled, trilled, and quavered through every variation of the gamut.
1968 W. Everson Residual Years 214 What quavered in the trees We could not see.
1990 Independent (Nexis) 18 Nov. 24 The Hammond organ bubbled and quavered.
b. transitive. To sing, play, or utter (a note, a song, sentence, etc.) with a trembling, trilling, or vibratory tone. Frequently with forth, out.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > singing > sing [verb (transitive)] > trill
knackc1380
quaver1570
warble1576
thrill1646
trilla1701
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Gi/2 To Quauer a note, vibrare.
1647 J. Cleveland Poems in Char. London-diurnall (Wing C4662) 47 Can a groane Be quaver'd out by soft division?
a1680 J. Harrington Horae Consecratae (1682) 416 By all which, they used to quaver, and warble forth wanton Aires, and deluding words.
1757 J. Dyer Fleece iii. 89 Th' am'rous youth..Quavers the choicest of his sonnets.
1780 M. Minifie Count de Poland IV. xxv. 32 He quavered out Lady Ann Fostess!
1783 C. Dibdin Long Odds i. 11 I can't, Miss, quaver you an air.
1819 W. Irving Sketch Bk. v. 388 He quavered forth a quaint old ditty.
1856 R. W. Procter Barber's Shop (1883) xiv. 118 The song which Jack..liked most to quaver was Alice Gray.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. iii. 30 She quavered to herself the song of the fat little gods of the hearth.
1997 Ventura County (California) Star (Nexis) 28 Aug. a3 She quavered out her explanation of why she couldn't do the story.
c. transitive. With direct speech as object: to utter with a trembling or shaky tone.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > say in a particular manner [verb (transitive)] > in a tremulous voice
quaver1773
tremble out1868
1773 Explanation II. 128 A tremulous voice quavered out, ‘It is I—open the door.’
1872 A. C. Steele Broken Toys I. vii. 102 ‘Oh, yes, I was the upper-housemaid,’ the old woman quavered.
1897 W. W. Jacobs Skipper's Wooing iii. 36 ‘I'd rather you stayed,’ he quavered. ‘I would indeed.’
1912 Red Mag. 1 Mar. 513/2 ‘Gus!’ she quavers. ‘Oh, Gus!’
1947 Punch 5 Mar. 206/2 ‘Thank heavens you're here!’ he quavered as I went up to him.
1972 ‘J. Herriot’ It shouldn't happen to Vet xv. 105 ‘Have you got a drop o' whisky handy, Jim?’ he quavered.
2001 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 25 Nov. e1 I felt older than I was, envisioning myself with a flowing white beard and an antique ear trumpet, quavering out a weak-voiced ‘Eh?’.
ΚΠ
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 127 With wire and catgut..Quavering and semiquavering care away.
1854 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters xviii. 386 Jock laboured hard to keep up with his guide; quavering and semi-quavering, as his breath served.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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