Shake, v. t. [imp. Shook; p. p. Shaken, (Shook, obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Shaking.]
Etymology: [OE. shaken, schaken, AS. scacan, sceacan; akin to Icel. & Sw. skaka, OS. skakan, to depart, to flee. sq. root161. Cf. Shock, v.]
1. To cause to move with quick or violent vibrations; to move rapidly one way and the other; to make to tremble or shiver; to agitate. As a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. Rev. vi. 13. Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels That shake heaven's basis. Milton.
2. Fig.: To move from firmness; to weaken the stability of; to cause to waver; to impair the resolution of. When his doctrines grew too strong to be shook by his enemies, they persecuted his reputation. Atterbury. Thy equal fear that my firm faith and love Can by his fraud be shaken or seduced. Milton.
3. (Mus.)
To give a tremulous tone to; to trill; as, to shake a note in music.
1 more senses
4. To move or remove by agitating; to throw off by a jolting or vibrating motion; to rid one's self of; -- generally with an adverb, as off, out, etc.; as, to shake fruit down from a tree. Shake off the golden slumber of repose. Shak. 'Tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age. Shak. I could scarcely shake him out of my company. Bunyan. To shake a cask (Naut.), to knock a cask to pieces and pack the staves. -- To shake hands, to perform the customary act of civility by clasping and moving hands, as an expression of greeting, farewell, good will, agreement, etc. -- To shake out a reef (Naut.), to untile the reef points and spread more canvas. -- To shake the bells. See under Bell. -- To shake the sails (Naut.), to luff up in the wind, causing the sails to shiver. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
3 other Webster entries under this spelling
Shake
obs. p. p. of Shake. Chaucer.
Shake, v. i.
To be agitated with a waving or vibratory motion; to tremble; to shiver; to quake; to totter. Under his burning wheels The steadfast empyrean shook throughout, All but the throne itself of God. Milton. What danger Who 's that that shakes behind there Beau & FL. Shaking piece, a name given by butchers to the piece of beef cut from the under side of the neck. See Illust. of Beef.
Shake, n.
1. The act or result of shaking; a vacillating or wavering motion; a rapid motion one way and other; a trembling, quaking, or shivering; agitation. The great soldier's honor was composed Of thicker stuff, which could endure a shake. Herbert. Our salutations were very hearty on both sides, consisting of many kind shakes of the hand. Addison.
2. A fissure or crack in timber, caused by its being dried too suddenly. Gwilt.
3. A fissure in rock or earth.
4. (Mus.)
A rapid alternation of a principal tone with another represented on the next degree of the staff above or below it; a trill.
5. (Naut.)
One of the staves of a hogshead or barrel taken apart. Totten.
6. A shook of staves and headings. Knight.
7. (Zoöl.)
The redshank; -- so called from the nodding of its head while on the ground. [Prov. Eng.] No great shakes, of no great importance. [Slang] Byron. -- The shakes, the fever and ague. [Colloq. U.S.]
Shades of meaning
A thing is shaken which is subjected to short and abruptly checked movements, as forward and backward, up and down, from side to side, etc. A tree is "shaken with a mighty wind;" a man slowly shakes his head. A thing rocks that is sustained from below; it swings if suspended from above, as a pendulum, or pivoted at the side, as a crane or a bridge-draw; to oscillate is to swing with a smooth and regular returning motion; a vibrating motion may be tremulous or jarring. The pendulum of a clock may be said to swing, vibrate, or oscillate; a steel bridge vibrates under the passage of a heavy train; the term vibrate is also applied to molecular movements. Jolting is a lifting from and letting down suddenly upon an unyielding surface; as, a carriage jolts over a rough road. A jarring motion is abruptly and very rapidly repeated through an exceedingly limited space; the jolting of the carriage jars the windows. Rattling refers directly to the sound produced by shaking. To joggle is to shake slightly; as, a passing touch joggles the desk on which one is writing. A thing trembles that shakes perceptibly and with an appearance of uncertainty and instability, as a person under the influence of fear; a thing shivers when all its particles are stirred with a slight but pervading tremulous motion, as a human body under the influence of cold; shuddering is a more pronounced movement of a similar kind, in human beings often the effect of emotional or moral recoil; hence, the word is applied by extension to such feelings even when they have no such outward manifestation; as, one says, "I shudder at the thought." To quiver is to have slight and often spasmodic contractile motions, as the flesh under the surgeon's knife. Thrill is applied to a pervasive movement felt rather than seen; as, the nerves thrill with delight; quiver is similarly used, but suggests somewhat more of outward manifestation. To agitate in its literal use is nearly the same as to shake, tho we speak of the sea as agitated when we could not say it is shaken; the Latin agitate is preferred in scientific or technical use to the Saxon shake, and especially as applied to the action of mechanical contrivances; in the metaphorical use agitate is more transitory and superficial, shake more fundamental and enduring; a person's feelings are agitated by distressing news; his courage, his faith, his credit, or his testimony is shaken. Sway applies to the movement of a body suspended from above or not firmly sustained from below, and the motion of which is less pronounced than swinging, smoother than vibrating, and not necessarily constant as oscillating; as, the swaying of a reed in the wind. Sway used transitively especially applies to motions of grace or dignity; brandish denotes a threatening or hostile motion; a monarch sways the scepter; the ruffian brandishes a club. To reel or totter always implies liability to fall; reeling is more violent than swaying, tottering more irregular; a drunken man reels; we speak of the tottering step of age or infancy. An extended mass which seems to lack solidity or cohesion is said to quake; as, a quaking bog. Quaver is applied almost exclusively to tremulous sounds of the human voice. Flap, flutter, and fluctuate refer to wave-like movements, flap generally to such as produce a sharp sound; a cock flaps his wings; flutter applies to a less pronounced and more irregular motion; a captive bird or a feeble pulse flutters. Compare fluctuate.