Shaking

How to spell shaking

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce shaking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does shaking mean?

1. verbMoving rapidly back and forth, or trembling involuntarily.

Shaking in a sentence

• Her hands were shaking as she signed the contract.

• The whole bridge was shaking in the strong wind.

Where does shaking come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the present participle of the verb 'shake', which descends from the Old English sceacan, meaning 'to move quickly to and fro' or 'to brandish'. That verb traces back to a Germanic root shared with Old Norse skaka, also meaning 'to shake', reflecting a wider Germanic family of words for jolting, vibrating motion. The original sense covered both deliberate brandishing (as of a weapon) and involuntary trembling, and English kept both threads as the word developed. The spelling trap lies in the silent 'e' of 'shake': when the -ing suffix is added, the 'e' is dropped to give 'shaking', not 'shakeing', which keeps the long vowel sound intact through the silent-e convention learned long ago. The same pattern governs relatives like 'baking' and 'making'.

How the word is built

• shak- (from Old English sceacan: to move quickly to and fro)
• -ing (present participle/gerund suffix)