quiver
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
- /kwĭvər/
- [kw̥ɪvə(ɹ)]
- Rhymes: -ɪvə(r)
[edit] Etymology 1
From Middle English via Anglo-Norman quiveir, from Old French quivre and cuevre, from West Germanic *kokar-, whence also Old English cocer, Old High German kohhar
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
quiver (plural quivers)
- (Weapon) A container for arrows, crossbow bolts or darts, such as those fired from a bow, crossbow or blowgun.
- 1598: Don Pedro: Nay, if Cupid have not spent all his quiver in Venice, thou wilt quake for this shortly. Benedick:I look for an earthquake too then. — William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, Act I, Scene I, line 271.
- 1786: Arrows were carried in quiver, called also an arrow case, which served for the magazine, arrows for immediate use were worn in the girdle. — Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 39.
- Figuratively, a ready storage location for figurative tools or weapons.
- He's got lots of sales pitches in his quiver.
- (obsolete) The collective noun for cobras.
[edit] Translations
arrow container
[edit] Etymology 2
From Middle English cwiver, from Old English *cwifer
[edit] Adjective
quiver (comparative more quiver, superlative most quiver)
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Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
- (archaic) Nimble, active.
- 1598: ... there was a little quiver fellow, and 'a would manage you his piece thus; and 'a would about and about, and come you in and come you in. — William Shakespeare, Henry V, Part II, Act III, Scene II, line 281.
[edit] Etymology 3
From Middle English quiveren (“‘lang-enm’”), probably from the adjective.
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to quiver (third-person singular simple present quivers, present participle quivering, simple past and past participle quivered)
- (intransitive) To shake or move with slight and tremulous motion; to tremble; to quake; to shudder; to shiver.
