\Trep`i*da"tion\, n. [F. tr['e]pidation, L.
trepidatio, fr. trepidare to hurry with alarm, to tremble,
from trepidus agitated, disturbed, alarmed; cf. trepit he
turns, Gr. ? to turn, E. torture.]
1. An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of
   paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear; quaking;
   quivering.

2. Hence, a state of terror or alarm; fear; confusion;
   fright; as, the men were in great trepidation.

3. (Anc. Astron.) A libration of the starry sphere in the
   Ptolemaic system; a motion ascribed to the firmament, to
   account for certain small changes in the position of the
   ecliptic and of the stars.

Syn: Tremor; agitation; disturbance; fear.