Word
yar
Definitions
01nautical agility
adj. describes a boat that is easy to steer and handles well in the water.
adj. describing a vessel that is quick, agile, and easy to hand, reef, and steer.
“The old sailor praised the small boat for being yar in rough seas.”
“The captain noted that the schooner remained remarkably yar even when navigating the narrow, turbulent channels of the archipelago.”
Literary
Usage
Primarily used in nautical literature or by sailing enthusiasts.
Teaching tip
This term gained some fame from the film 'The Philadelphia Story'; outside of nautical or literary contexts, it is very rare.
02to snarl
v. to make a low, angry sound like a dog; to complain or argue.
v. to snarl or growl; by extension, to be captious, quarrelsome, or troublesome.
“The stray dog began to yar when the stranger approached its food.”
“He was known to yar at his neighbors over the slightest disagreement regarding the property boundary.”
Dialect
Usage
Intransitive verb; primarily found in Scottish or Northern English dialects.
Etymology
From Middle English ȝaren, ȝurren, ȝeorren, from Old English ġeorran, ġirran, gyrran (“to sound, chatter, grunt, creak, grate”), from Proto-Germanic gerraną (“to creak”), from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- (“to make a noise, rattle, gurgle, grumble”). Cognate with Scots yarr, yirr (“to snarl, growl, quarrel, cause trouble”), Middle High German girren (“to roar, cry, rattle, chatter”).
Uncertain.
From Middle English yar, ȝar, variants of yare, ȝare, from Old English ġearu (“ready”), from Proto-West Germanic garu, from Proto-Germanic garwaz.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/yar