shudder

Meanings

Noun

• A shivering tremor, often from fear or horror.
• A moment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson.

Verb

• To shake nervously, often from fear or horror.
• To vibrate jerkily.

Related

Similar words

• (shivering tremor): jiggle, quake, rumble, quiver
• (frisson): shiver (cold), quiver, tingle, thrill
• (shake nervously): palpitate, shiver, shake, quake
• (vibrate jerkily): flutter, jiggle, shake, wiggle

Origin

• From Middle English *shudderen, *schuderen (suggested by Middle English shuddering, schudering), from Middle Dutch schudderen and/or Middle Low German schodderen, iterative forms of the verb at hand in Dutch schudden, Low German schüdden (both “to shake”), German schütten ("to pour"), from Proto-Germanic *skudjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skewdʰ-. From Low German are also borrowed German schaudern ("to shudder"), Danish skudre.