Tremulant

//ˈtɹɛmjʊlənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A mechanical component of a musical organ, designed to add vibration to the sounds produced by the instrument.

    "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."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Trembling, tremulous.

    "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."

Example

More examples

"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."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

From Italian tremolante (“trembling, shaking”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.