Word of the Day

: July 16, 2017

yawp

verb YAWP

What It Means

1 : to make a raucous noise : squawk

2 : clamor, complain

yawp in Context

"They yawped and cheered when they heard honks from passing cars, including a Toledo police vehicle that briefly sounded its alarm." — Andrew Koenig, The Toledo (Ohio) Blade, 7 Aug. 2015

"It's a place where teenagers yawp and chuckle over mounds of fried rice in styrofoam containers; where a couple on a budget shares sips from a fountain soda and a foot-long sub." — Calum Marsh, The National Post (Ontario, Canada), 9 May 2017

Did You Know?

Yawp first appeared sometime in the 15th century. This verb comes from Middle English yolpen, most likely itself derived from the past participle of yelpen, meaning "to boast, call out, or yelp." Interestingly, yawp retains much of the meaning of yelpen, in that it implies a type of complaining which often has a yelping or squawking quality. An element of foolishness, in addition to the noisiness, is often implied as well. Yawp can also be a noun meaning "a raucous noise" or "squawk." The noun yawp arrived on the scene more than 400 years after the verb. It was greatly popularized by "Song of Myself," a poem by Walt Whitman containing the line "I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world."