temblor

[ tem-bler, -blawr; Spanish tem-blawr ]

noun

, plural tem·blors, Spanish tem·blo·res [tem-, blaw, -, r, es].

1. a tremor; earthquake.

temblor

/ ˈtɛmblə; -blɔː /

noun

1. an earthquake or earth tremor

Word History and Origins

Origin of temblor¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1895–1900; from Spanish: literally, “a quaking,” equivalent to tembl(ar) “to quake” (perhaps ultimately from Latin timēre “to fear” and Late Latin tremulāre “to quake”) + -or noun suffix; tremble, -or ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of temblor¹

C19: American Spanish, from Spanish temblar to shake, tremble

Example Sentences

What precisely is fueling the sequence of shakers is not entirely clear, and officials warn that prior seismic activity does not necessarily mean more powerful temblors are imminent.

From Los Angeles Times

Over that time period, Jones said, there was an average of eight to 10 independent sequences of earthquakes annually that included at least one temblor of magnitude 4 or greater.

From Los Angeles Times

Over that time period, Jones said, there were an average of eight to 10 independent sequences of earthquakes annually that included at least one temblor of magnitude 4 or greater.

From Los Angeles Times

Officials worry that a huge temblor would cut off Southern California from vital utilities and communications for days, if not weeks.

From Los Angeles Times

The temblor struck at 7:28 a.m. and was felt across the region.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• earthquake
• upheaval

More About Temblor

What does temblor mean?

Temblor is another word for an earthquake or a tremor.

A temblor can also be called a trembler or a tremblor. These terms are all less commonly used than earthquake and tremor.

The plural of temblor is temblors, but temblores is also sometimes used as a plural (due to the fact that temblor came from Spanish and this is how it is pluralized in Spanish).

Example: The temblor that hit the area last month shook the whole city for more than a minute.

Where does temblor come from?

The first records of the word temblor in English come from the late 1800s. It was first and is primarily used in the U.S. It comes American Spanish, from the Spanish verb temblar, meaning “to tremble,” “to shake,” or “to quake.” It may ultimately derive from the Latin verb tremulāre, “to quake.” The word tremble also derives from this root.

Although temblor has the same meaning in both English and Spanish, its pronunciation is different. In Spanish, the emphasis is on the second syllable [ tem-BLOR ], while in English the first syllable is stressed [ TEM-blur ].

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to temblor?

• temblors (plural)
• temblores (alternate plural)

What are some synonyms for temblor?

• trembler
• tremblor
• quake
• tremor
• earthquake

What are some words that share a root or word element with temblor? 

• tremble

What are some words that often get used in discussing temblor?

• aftershock
• shake
• ground
• magnitude
• Richter scale

How is temblor used in real life?

Temblor is often used in news headlines, probably since it’s fewer letters than earthquake.

Yesterday's earthquake was a terrible scare for the vibrant Oaxacan town of Juchitan, which is still struggling to recover from a devastating 2017 temblor.

When the ground began to shake, they feared much of what they had rebuilt would return to rubble.https://t.co/hDz0AVPXU7

— Julia Love (@byJuliaLove) June 24, 2020

Alaska Quake Was Aftershock of November 2018 Temblor https://t.co/hmpch9jSHT

— Insurance Journal (@ijournal) July 6, 2020

Whoa. My @quakefeed app is going wild with all the temblors in/off the coast of Chile.

— Kay Bell (@taxtweet) September 1, 2020

 

 

Try using temblor!

Is temblor used correctly in the following sentence?

During the earthquake, the ground began to shake and temblor.