- vibrate (v.)
- 1610s (intransitive) "move to and fro;" 1660s, "swing to and fro;" from Latin vibratus, past participle of vibrare "set in tremulous motion, move quickly to and fro, quiver, tremble, shake," from PIE *wib-ro-, from root *weip- "to turn, vacillate, tremble ecstatically, move quickly to and fro" (source also of Lithuanian wyburiu "to wag" (the tail), Danish vippe, Dutch wippen "to swing," Old English wipan "to wipe"). Transitive sense "cause to vibrate" is from c. 1700. Related: Vibrated; vibrating.
