I. qua ‧ ver 1 /ˈkweɪvə $ -ər/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: quave 'to shake' (13-19 centuries) ]
if your voice quavers, it shakes as you speak, especially because you are nervous or upset:
‘It’s not true,’ she said, in a quavering voice.
‘No,’ he quavered.
—quavery adjective
II. quaver 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . British English a musical note which continues for an eighth of the length of a ↑ semibreve SYN eighth note American English
2 . a shaking sound in your voice