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quavery

 [kwey-ver]   Origin

qua·ver

   [kwey-ver]
verb (used without object)
1.
to shake tremulously; quiver or tremble: He stood there quavering with fear.
2.
to sound, speak, or sing tremulously: Her voice quavered a moment and then she regained control.
3.
to perform trills in singing or on a musical instrument.
verb (used with object)
4.
to utter, say, or sing with a quavering or tremulous voice.

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Quavery is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
noun
5.
a quavering or tremulous shake, especially in the voice.
6.
a quavering tone or utterance.
7.
Music (chiefly British). an eighth note.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English quaveren (v.), blend of quake and waver1

Related forms
qua·ver·er, noun
qua·ver·ing·ly, adverb
qua·ver·y, qua·ver·ous, adjective
un·qua·ver·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To quavery
Collins
World English Dictionary
quaver (ˈkweɪvə)
 
—vb
1.  to say or sing (something) with a trembling voice
2.  (intr) (esp of the voice) to quiver, tremble, or shake
3.  rare (intr) to sing or play quavers or ornamental trills
 
—n
4.  music Usual US and Canadian name: eighth note a note having the time value of an eighth of a semibreve
5.  a tremulous sound or note
 
[C15 (in the sense: to vibrate, quiver1): from quaven to tremble, of Germanic origin; compare Low German quabbeln to tremble]
 
'quaverer
 
—n
 
'quavering
 
—adj
 
'quaveringly
 
—adv
 
'quavery
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

quaver
"to vibrate, tremble," early 15c., probably frequentative of cwavien "to tremble, shake" (early 13c.), probably related to Low Ger. quabbeln "tremble," possibly of imitative origin. Meaning "sing in trills or quavers" first recorded 1538. The noun meaning "musical note" is first recorded 1570.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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