temblor means an earthquake. It carries an Arena rating of 1350, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, temblor ranks #672 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,008 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,485 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,550 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
temblor is pronounced /tɛmˈblɔː/.
Why “temblor” is a great word
An earthquake. From American Spanish temblor ("earthquake"), from Spanish temblor ("a trembling"), from temblar ("to tremble"), from Medieval Latin tremulare, from Latin tremere ("to tremble"). First recorded in English in the southwestern U.S. in 1876. Unlike "tremor," which suggests a minor vibration, or the general, scientific "earthquake," "temblor" is the specific, borrowed name for the event, carrying the dust of its regional origin. It is the deep, groaning shift of bedrock, the sudden dance of china on a shelf, and the eerie silence that follows the roar—a reminder that the ground is not a given, but a temporary and trembling agreement.
Etymology
From Latin American Spanish temblor.
noun
- An earthquake.e.g.“Ever since the San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, scientists have been warning that it is just a matter of time before another major temblor strikes the Bay Area.” — 2006, Louise Chipley Slavicek, The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Of 1906, page 107:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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