/kweɪk/
OriginFrom 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”).
- A trembling or shaking.
“We felt a quake in the apartment every time the train went by.”
- An earthquake, a trembling of the ground with force.
“California is plagued by quakes; there are a few minor ones almost every month.”
“Well, everybody talks about the California quakes
But the first time I ever felt the earth shake
Was in Miami, when Amy touched me.”
- figurativelySomething devastating, like a strong earthquake.
“But HS1 was more exposed to the COVID quake than most given its inherent reliance on international travel, which had collapsed, leaving cross-Channel operator Eurostar stacked with millions of debt.”
- intransitiveTo tremble or shake.
“I felt the ground quaking beneath my feet.”
“Dorus threw Pamela behind a tree; where she stood quaking like the partridge on which the hawk is even ready to seize.” — The New Arcadia
“The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence.”
- figuratively, intransitiveTo be in a state of fear, shock, amazement, etc., such as might cause one to tremble.
“Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little ”
“If Cupid have not spent all his quiver in / Venice, thou wilt quake for this shortly.”
“Now could I drink hot blood / And do such bitter business as the bitter day / Would quake to look on.”
- The 99th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
Formsquakes(plural) · quakes(present, singular, third-person) · quaking(participle, present) · quaked(participle, past) · quaked(past) · quoke(archaic, participle, past) · quoke(archaic, past) · quook(obsolete, participle, past) · quook(obsolete, past)