erthequake

• erþequake, erþe quaque
• erthe qwake (Late Middle English)
• erd-quake (Northumbrian); eorþe-quake (West Midland)

From erthe (“earth”) +‎ quaken (“to shake”). Forms with /d/ are influenced by erd (“homeland, earth”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːrð(ə)ˌkwaːk(ə)/, /ˈɛːrð(ə)ˌkwaːk(ə)/, /ˈɛrð(ə)ˌkwaːk(ə)/

erthequake (plural erthequakes)

1. An earthquake (shaking of the ground)

   Synonyms: erthe dyne, erthe schakynge, (chiefly East Anglia) erthe quave

   • c. 1390, “Þe eoꝛþe quake”, in Sowlehele (Vernon Lyrics, Bodleian MS. Eng. poet. a. 1)‎^[1], Worcestershire, folio 411, recto; republished at Oxford: Digital Bodleian, 10 January 2019:

     ¶ Þe Rẏſing. of þe comuynes. in londe / Þe Peſtilens. and þe eoꝛþe quake / Þeose þreo þinges. I. vnderſtonde. / Beo tokenes. þe grete vengaũce ⁊ wrake […]

     The revolt of the country's commoners, / the plague, and the earthquake. / These three things, I understand, / are signals: the strong vengeance and retribution […]

• English: earthquake
  • → Scots: earthquake
• Middle Scots: erdquake
  • >? Scots: yirdquauk

• “ē̆rd, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “ē̆rthe, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.