quaking

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quake

(kwāk)

intr.v. quaked, quak·ing, quakes

1. To shake or tremble, as from instability or shock.

2. To shiver or shudder, as with cold or from strong emotion. See Synonyms at shake.

1. An instance of quaking.

2. An earthquake.

[Middle English quaken, from Old English cwacian.]

quak′y adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

quaking

(ˈkweɪkɪŋ)

adj

unstable or unsafe to walk on, as a bog or quicksand: a quaking bog; quaking sands.

ˈquakingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

References in classic literature ?

One day the Countrymen noticed that the Mountains were in labour; smoke came out of their summits, the earth was quaking at their feet, trees were crashing, and huge rocks were tumbling.

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The orang-outang was quaking in an ecstasy of pure terror.

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As I fumbled around for the matches, knocking things down with my quaking hands, I wished the sun would rise in the middle of the day, when it was warm and bright and cheerful, and one wasn't sleepy.