▪ I. ˈshivering, vbl. n.1
[f. shiver v.1 + -ing1.]
1. a. The action or an act of shiver v.1
| c 1400 Sege Jerusalem (E.E.T.S.) 31/548 For schyueryng of sche[l]des, & schynyng of helmes. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 146 b, By chaunce of shiueryng of the spere. 1625 Bacon Ess., Viciss. Things (Arb.) 574 Vpon the Breaking and Shiuering of a great State and Empire, you may be sure to haue Warres. 1647 Hexham i, A shivering, or a rieving, Een klievinge, ofte een scheuringe. |
b. Pottery. Peeling and splitting of the glaze.
| 1921 A. B. Searle Clayworkers' Hand-bk. (ed. 3) xi. 208 Shivering is a variety of ‘peeling’ which may be produced by adding flint which has been too finely ground or an excess of fine silica to a body. 1947 J. C. Rich Materials & Methods of Sculpture ii. 51 Another cause of shivering is firing at too low a temperature. 1964 H. Hodges Artifacts ii. 52 Peeling..or shivering of a glaze usually results from a failure to fit the glaze to the body, the contraction of the glaze being less than that of the body. |
2. A fragment, splinter. rare.
| 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 270 In stead of Occam they vse the shiuerings of the barke of the sayd trees. |
▪ II. shivering, vbl. n.2
(ˈʃɪvərɪŋ)
[f. shiver v.2 + -ing1.]
1. a. The action or an act of shiver v.2
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. xxxix. (1495) 253 A feuer Terciane greuyth euery daye fyrste wyth sheueringe and thenne wyth heete. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 75/1 Chymerynge or chyuerynge, or dyderynge, frigutus. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 17/3 Ther is a chillnes and shiveringe therwith associated. 1681 Belon New Myst. Phys. Introd. 1 A Tertian that comes with a cold Shivering. 1741 Wesley Jrnl. 25 Oct., About two in the afternoon just as I was set down to dinner, a shivering came upon me, and a little pain in my back. 1873 Lancet 27 Dec. 900/1 Every day she had shiverings, which came on after 4 o'clock p.m. |
b. Comb., as shivering attack, shivering fit.
| 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf vii, The poor goat stretched out her limbs with the twitches and shivering fit of the last agony. a 1859 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxv. V. 305 Headaches and shivering fits returned on him almost daily. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 169 The patient frequently feels cold all over, and may have a sharp shivering attack. |
2. Vet. Sci. A pathological condition of horses in which certain muscles undergo rapid spasms, most commonly those in the hindquarters.
| 1847 Vet. Record III. 4 ‘Shivering’, an affection of the stifle-joint, associated with luxation of the patella. 1907 J. W. Axe Horse VIII. 374 During this test it will be noticed whether the action is close,..and whether there are any indications of stringhalt or shivering. 1978 C. Geddes Horse 218 The most common conditions are:{ddd}Shivering, a condition of the hind limbs, characterized by shaking movements of the hind limb and tail when the leg is flexed and lowered to the ground. |
▪ III. shivering, ppl. a.1
(ˈʃɪvərɪŋ)
[f. shiver v.1 + -ing2.]
That shivers (in various senses of the verb); shattering, breaking, splintering.
| a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 789 Sone in scheuerand schidis schaftis ere brosten. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 771 Our schefferand harnes schot the blud so scheyn. 1775 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad ix. 115 The shivering trumpets tear the still-voiced air. 1824 G. Chalmers Caledonia III. iii. i. 221 The soft shivering argillaceous stone which easily yields to the weather. |
Hence ˈshiveringly adv.1 rare—1.
| 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iv. Extent of God's Provid. §15. 400 The maine Summier of the other floore that fell was much stronger... Yet that also failed.., and that more shiveringly, and with a longer rent..then the other. |
▪ IV. shivering, ppl. a.2
(ˈʃɪvərɪŋ)
[f. shiver v.2 + -ing2.]
1. That causes to shiver with cold, chilly.
| c 1200 Vices & Virtues 63 And ðu, earme saule, on ðe wallende brene of ðe hote fiere, and eft, embehwile, on ðe chiuerinde chele. 1786 Har'st Rig xc, Cold shiv'ring blasts do not dismay The Celtic race. 1830 G. Colman Random Rec. xii. II. 63 My companion's lower habiliments appear'd somewhat shivering for the season. 1894 Blackmore Perlycross 238 It was truly a shivering and a shuddering night. |
2. Trembling with cold, fear, etc.
| 1577 Grange Golden Aphrod. I iv b, The crampe ouertooke hir feeling, hyr sheuering nayles started. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 488 Their Camelots..shield the shiv'ring Mariner from Cold. 1754 Gray Poesy 57 To chear the shiv'ring Natives dull abode. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. III. 71 The shivering wretch turned up a narrow court in Holborn. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn l, The shivering throngs whom the flames had driven from their homes. |
| jocularly. 1822 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Det. Thoughts on Bks., A tithe of that good leather would comfortably re⁓clothe my shivering folios. |
b. of feelings, and the like.
| 1562 A. Brooke Romeus & Iuliet 907 Of shyuering care and dred I haue felt many a fit. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 23 Awaking with a shivering feare, caused by his imagination and passion. 1747 Mallet Amyntor & Theodora iii. 420 Thro shivering joy and doubt. 1898 Meredith Odes, Napoleon xiii, His nature with her shivering faith ran yoked. |
c. shivering-Jemmy (see quot.). Also a dial. name for Briza media, also known as shivering-grass (Britten and Holland).
| 1864 Hotten's Slang Dict., Shivering-Jemmy, the name given by street folk to any cadger who exposes himself half naked, on a cold day to obtain alms. |
3. Of things: Trembling, shaking, fluttering.
| 1762–9 Falconer Shipwr. ii. 151 The shivering sails descend; the yards are square. 1849 Noad Electricity 290 Large extraordinary movements of the needle, in which it traverses frequently, with a shivering motion, an arc of several degrees on both sides of its usual position. 1865 Swinburne Chastelard iii. i. 103 Shivering soft eyelashes. 1870 A. O'Shaughnessy Epic of Women 57 The swaying pine and shivering fir. |
b. Of sound: Tremulous.
| 16.. tr. Strada in Flavel Husb. Spirit. (1669) 236 And closing up his layes, Like a full Quire, a shivering consort playes. 1891 Spectator 23 Mar., That wants nothing but the shivering music to make a grand sensation on any boards. |
Hence ˈshiveringly adv.2
| 1825 Mrs. Hemans Forest Sanctuary xlvi, Some like the leaf swept shiveringly along. 1856 Chamb. Jrnl. VI. 349 ‘Ah’, he continued shiveringly, ‘how very cold it is!’ 1889 Gunter That Frenchman xx. 266 Vassilissa enters timidly, and gazes shiveringly at the head of secret police. |