Meanings
plural quavers
- A trembling shake.
- entertainmentan eighth note, drawn as a crotchet (quarter note) with a tail.
The crotchets and quavers are dancing up and down the stave like little black boys on a fence.
1920 August 27, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “The Wind Blows”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, pages 140–141
present singular third person quavers · participle present quavering · participle past quavered · past quavered
- intransitiveTo use the voice in a trembling manner, as in speaking or singing.
"Aw come on, guys!" The woman, clearly overwhelmed by the force of the two friends' personalities, quavered on the point of tears.
1982 December 11, Andrea Loewenstein, “The Joys of Community or Holiday-itis Strikes Back”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 21, page 12 - transitiveTo utter quaveringly.
We shall hear her quavering them […] to some sprightly airs of the opera.
1711 November 4 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 205; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLCSynonyms: wobble
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo utter quaveringly.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna musical note having the time value of an eighth of a whole note
verbgive off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
verbsing or play with trills, alternating with the half note above or below
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishquaveren
- Englishquaver
From Middle English quaveren, frequentative form of quaven, cwavien (“to tremble”), equivalent to quave + -er. Cognate with Low German quabbeln (“to quiver”), German quabbeln, quappeln (“to quiver”). More at quave, quab, quiver.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque kortxea
- kortxea(music) an eighth note
Bulgarian треперене, тремоло
- треперене (treperene)a trembling shake
- тремоло (tremolo)a trembling of the voice
- треперя (treperja)to shake
- тремолирам (tremoliram)to use the voice in a trembling manner
Catalan corxera
- corxera(music) an eighth note
Chinese Cantonese 八分音符
- 八分音符 (baat³ fan¹ jam¹ fu⁴)(music) an eighth note
Chinese Mandarin 八分音符
- 八分音符 (bāfēn yīnfú)(music) an eighth note
Czech chvění, chvění
- chvěnía trembling shake
- chvěnía trembling of the voice
- tremoloa trembling of the voice
- tryleka trembling of the voice
- osminka(music) an eighth note
- osminová nota(music) an eighth note
- chvět seto shake
- třást seto shake
Dutch trilling, beving
- trillinga trembling shake
- bevinga trembling shake
- achtste noota trembling shake
- vibratoa trembling of the voice
- tremoloa trembling of the voice
- achtste noot(music) an eighth note
Finnish kahdeksasosanuotti
- kahdeksasosanuotti(music) an eighth note
French croche
- croche(music) an eighth note
German Beben, Zittern
- Bebena trembling shake
- Zitterna trembling of the voice
- Bebena trembling of the voice
- Trillerna trembling of the voice
- Achtelnote(music) an eighth note
- zitternto shake
- trillernto use the voice in a trembling manner
Greek όγδοο
- όγδοο (ógdoo)(music) an eighth note
Hungarian reszketés, remegés
- reszketésa trembling shake
- remegésa trembling shake
- remegésa trembling of the voice
- nyolcad(music) an eighth note
- remegto shake
- reszketto shake
- trillázikto use the voice in a trembling manner
Icelandic áttundapartsnóta, áttundipartur
- áttundapartsnóta(music) an eighth note
- áttundipartur(music) an eighth note
Italian croma
- croma(music) an eighth note
Japanese 八分音符
- 八分音符 (hachibun onpu)(music) an eighth note
Korean 팔분음표
- 팔분음표 (palbuneumpyo)(music) an eighth note
Malay kuaver
- kuaver(music) an eighth note
Māori orohaurua
- orohaurua(music) an eighth note
Polish ósemka
- ósemka(music) an eighth note
Portuguese colcheia
- colcheia(music) an eighth note
Romanian tremur, tremur
- tremura trembling shake
- tremura trembling of the voice
- tremoloa trembling of the voice
Russian восьма́я но́та
- восьма́я но́та (vosʹmája nóta)(music) an eighth note
Scottish Gaelic caman
- caman(music) an eighth note
Spanish temblor, corchea
- temblora trembling shake
- corchea(music) an eighth note
Swedish skälva, åttondelsnot
- skälvaa trembling of the voice
- åttondelsnot(music) an eighth note
Vietnamese móc đơn, nốt móc đơn
- móc đơn(music) an eighth note
- nốt móc đơn(music) an eighth note
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with quaver
Cite this entry
quaver. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quaver
“quaver.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quaver. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quaver,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quaver.
Source: quaver on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.