quiver

Meaning

Noun

1. A container for arrows, crossbow bolts or darts, such as those fired from a bow, crossbow or blowgun.
2. (figuratively) A ready storage location for figurative tools or weapons.
3. (obsolete) A vulva.
4. (obsolete) The collective noun for cobras.
5. A multidigraph, especially in the context of representation theory.

Adj

Nimble, active.

Verb

To shake or move with slight and tremulous motion.

Synonyms

tremble

shake

🫨

shiver

shudder

quake

vibrate

quivering

quaver

trembling

palpitate

vibration

shaking

🫨

tremor

flutter

waver

flicker

wince

thrill

wave

👋

palpitation

shakiness

throb

quaking

chill

wag

tingle

swing

pulsate

fortune-teller

get nervous

flitter

wobble

tremble with fear

biceps

excited

give a start

pulsation

stir

beat

sway

tremolo

judder

shimmy

start

rattle

frisson

bag

startle

concussion

chilled

Translations

carquois

Köcher

temblar

faretra

bibberen

trembler

aljaba

carcaj

zittern

trillen

frémir

frisson

tremer

φαρέτρα

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkwɪvə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: quiver

Cognate with Old Dutch: cocar

Cognate with Dutch: koker

Cognate with Old English: cocer

Inherited from Old English: *cwifer

In summary

From Middle English quiver, from Anglo-Norman quivre, from Old Dutch cocare (source of Dutch koker, and cognate to Old English cocer (“quiver, case”)), from Proto-West Germanic *kokar (“container”), said to be from Hunnic, possibly from Proto-Mongolic *kökexür (“leather vessel for liquids”); see there for more. Replaced early modern cocker, the inherited reflex of that West Germanic word.
The mathematical sense originated as German Köcher in a 1972 paper by Pierre Gabriel; it was likely chosen because a quiver contains arrows, while a digraph contains directed edges (also called "arrows").