tremulant
/ˈtɹɛmjʊlənt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A mechanical component of a musical organ, designed to add vibration to the sounds produced by the instrument.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "Lightning exploded through the sky, followed quickly by a tremulant clap of thunder."
- "[S]he continued in a throaty, yet tremulant voice, punctuating her words with a shy, small smile."
- "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."
- "The tremulant intentionally disturbs the stability of the wind in order to produce a desirable musical oscillation."
Etymology
From Medieval Latin tremulāns (“trembling, shaking”), ultimately from Latin tremēre (“to tremble, shake”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin