tremolo

tremolo [trem-uh-loh] ExamplesWord Origin noun, plural trem·o·los. Music.

1. a tremulous or vibrating effect produced on certain instruments and in the human voice, as to express emotion.
2. a mechanical device in an organ by which such an effect is produced.

Origin of tremolo 1715–25; Italian: trembling Latin tremulus tremulous Examples from the Web for tremolo Historical Examples of tremolo

I know you affect to scorn the cinema, and this was it, tremolo and all.

Coming Home

Edith Wharton

It made you shiver to hear the tremolo stop she put on her voice.

Cabbages and Kings

O. Henry

I have since learned that the greatest violinists do not overemphasise the tremolo.

The Belovd Vagabond

William J. Locke

The tremolo and sautill displayed the delicate flexibility of his wrist.

Ole Bull

Sara C. Bull

He did his best, and sang in tremolo from “Oh, Mother, the Mariner!”

The Quest

Frederik van Eeden

British Dictionary definitions for tremolo tremolo noun plural -los music

1. 1. (in playing the violin, cello, etc) the rapid repetition of a single note produced by a quick back-and-forth movement of the bow
   2. the rapid reiteration of two notes usually a third or greater interval apart (fingered tremolo)Compare trill 1 (def. 1)
2. (in singing) a fluctuation in pitchCompare vibrato
3. a vocal ornament of late renaissance music consisting of the increasingly rapid reiteration of a single note
4. another word for tremulant

Word Origin for tremolo C19: from Italian: quavering, from Medieval Latin tremulāre to tremble Word Origin and History for tremolo

1801, from Italian tremolo, from Latin tremulus “trembling” (see tremulous).