tremulant

See also: trémulant

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɛmjʊlənt/

Etymology 1

From Medieval Latin tremulāns (“trembling, shaking”), ultimately from Latin tremēre (“to tremble, shake”).

Adjective

tremulant (comparative more tremulant, superlative most tremulant)

1. Trembling, tremulous.
   • 1899, Booth Tarkington, chapter 6, in The Gentleman From Indiana:

     The night air wrapped them warmly, and the balm of the little breezes that stirred the foliage around them was the smell of damask roses from the garden. . . . She stood by the bench, one hand resting on it; she stood all in the tremulant shadow.

   • 2009, Faye Kellerman, The Quality of Mercy, →ISBN, page 436:

     Lightning exploded through the sky, followed quickly by a tremulant clap of thunder.

   • 2010, Joy Jouse, School Days, →ISBN, page 39:

     [S]he continued in a throaty, yet tremulant voice, punctuating her words with a shy, small smile.

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *trem- (0 c, 23 e)

Etymology 2

From Italian tremolante (“trembling, shaking”).

Noun

tremulant (plural tremulants)

1. (music) A mechanical component of a musical organ, designed to add vibration to the sounds produced by the instrument.
   • 1855, Edward J. Hopkins, “XVI: The Tremulant”, in The Organ: Its History and Construction, page 70:

     The tremulant is a small apparatus that gives to the tone of any department of an organ to which it may be applied a waving or undulating effect.

   • 2009, John R. Shanon, Understanding the Pipe Organ, →ISBN, page 22:

     The tremulant intentionally disturbs the stability of the wind in order to produce a desirable musical oscillation.

Further reading

• “tremulant”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Lutterman

Latin

Verb

tremulant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of tremulō