Shaky

How to spell shaky

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce shaky

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does shaky mean?

1. adjectiveTrembling or unsteady, or by extension uncertain, weak, or unreliable.

Shaky in a sentence

• His hands were shaky as he signed the mortgage documents.

• The old ladder felt shaky when she climbed the top rung.

Where does shaky come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a homely native English word built from the verb 'shake', which descends from the Old English sceacan, meaning 'to move quickly to and fro' or 'to vibrate'. That verb has deep Germanic roots and was already in use a thousand years ago, sharing ancestry with similar words in Old Norse and other northern tongues. The adjective 'shaky' arose much later, around the early 1700s, by attaching the productive English suffix '-y' to mean 'inclined to shake'. From the literal idea of physical trembling it quickly broadened to figurative senses such as 'unsteady', 'unreliable', or 'lacking confidence'. The spelling trap sits in the silent 'e' of 'shake': it is dropped before the '-y', so the word is 'shaky' and not 'shakey'.

How the word is built

• shake (to tremble, from Old English sceacan)
• -y (adjective suffix meaning 'characterised by')