QUAVER • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Quaver

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/kwˈeɪvər/ Listen

noun

Quaver n.

A shake, or rapid and tremulous vibration, of the voice, or of an instrument of music.

(Mus.) An eighth note. See Eighth.

verb

Quaver v. t. To utter with quavers. "We shall hear her quavering them... to some sprightly airs of the opera."

Quaver v. i. (past & past part. quavered; pres. part. quavering)

To tremble; to vibrate; to shake.

Especially, to shake the voice; to utter or form sound with rapid or tremulous vibrations, as in singing; also, to trill on a musical instrument

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Etymology of 'Quaver'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Quaver" Quotes from Famous Books

... twelve we "weighed anchor" and I went on deck to take a last look at Dixie with the rest of the party. Every heart was full. Each left brothers, sisters, husband, children, or dear friends behind. We sang, "Farewell dear land," with a slight quaver in our voices, looked at the beautiful starlight shining on the last boundary of our glorious land, and, fervently and silently praying, passed ...

— A Confederate Girl's Diary • Sarah Morgan Dawson

... unusual pains in its preparation, bringing with her two volumes of the author from which to read at the right moment the deaths of Little Nell and Paul Dombey. She had practised these until she could make her voice quaver effectively, and she had looked forward to a genuine ovation when she ...

— The Boss of Little Arcady • Harry Leon Wilson

... heart on first acquaintance, which he later ceases to deserve; but in the case of Mime I think it is never wholly withdrawn, even when he is shown to be an unmitigated wretch; he is, to begin with, so little, and he has a funny, fetching twist or quaver in his voice, indicated by the notes themselves of his rather mean little sing-song melodies. Alberich's nominal reason for indulging his present passion for hurting—he is haling Mime by the ear—is that the latter is overslow ...

— The Wagnerian Romances • Gertrude Hall

... These are the last words he spoke in the hearing of any living human being, sir." At this point the old chap's voice got quite unsteady. "He was afraid the poor brute would jump after him, don't you see?" he pursued with a quaver. "Yes, Captain Marlow. He set the log for me; he—would you believe it?—he put a drop of oil in it too. There was the oil-feeder where he left it near by. The boat-swain's mate got the hose along aft to wash down at ...

— Lord Jim • Joseph Conrad

... hurriedly down into the street, where a few startled women and old men had rushed at the first roll of the cannon. As she stood among them, straining her eyes from end to end of the little village, her heart beat in her throat and she could only quaver out an ...

— The Battle Ground • Ellen Glasgow

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