Etymograph

English

tremulous

Tremulous comes from Latin tremulus ‘shaking, quaking, quivering, trembling,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *trem-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trem-‘tremble’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*trémti‘to be trembling’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tremōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtremō‘to tremble, shake’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtremulus‘shaking, quaking, quivering, trembling, tremulous’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1769tremulous

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trem-‘tremble’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*trémti‘to be trembling’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tremōreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtremō‘to tremble, shake’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtremulus‘shaking, quaking, quivering, trembling, tremulous’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1769tremulous

Earliest quotation: 1769, Firishta, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi: “Tremulous on the bladed graſs ſhone bright the pearly…”

Equivalent to tremulate + -ous

Linked words

through Latin tremō ‘to tremble, shake’

tremendous, tremble, tremor, tremolo, 5 more

Today it means

adj Trembling, quivering, or shaking.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *trem- / tremulous

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