ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈdāshən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin trepidation-, trepidatio, from trepidatus (past participle of trepidare to tremble, trepidate, from trepidus trembling, agitated) + -ion-, -io -ion; akin to Old English thrafian to urge, push, press, Old Saxon thrabōn to trot, high-step, Middle Low German draven, Swedish trava to trot, Greek trapein to press grapes, Lithuanian trepsti, trepseti to stamp, trample, Sanskrit tṛpra unsteady, hasty, anxious
1.
a. archaic : a tremulous motion : quivering , tremor
b. : the quality or state of being trepid : nervous agitation : apprehension
the high quality … should make readers turn with eagerness and without too much trepidation to the 200-page anthology — Times Literary Supplement
shocked safe and sane businessmen into a state of indignant trepidation — Thorstein Veblen
2.
a. : a libration of one of the celestial spheres adduced under the Ptolemaic system to explain small changes in position of the ecliptic and the stars
b. : a small fluctuation in the longitude of the sun or moon
Synonyms: see fear