Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

yerk

/jɜː(ɹ)k/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: yerk
IPA: /jɜː(ɹ)k/

11

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To stab (someone or something).

Archaic; Transitive verb

verb

To throw or thrust with a sudden, smart movement; to kick or strike suddenly; to jerk.

verb

To strike or lash with a whip or stick.

Obsolete

verb

To rouse or excite.

Obsolete

verb

To bind or tie with a jerk.

noun

A sudden or quick thrust or motion; a jerk.

Archaic

Example Sentences

"To doe no contriu'd mur[t]her; I lacke iniquity / Sometimes to do me ſeruice: nine or ten times, / I had thought to haue ierk'd him here, / Vnder the ribbes."
"Their wounded steeds […] / Yerk out their armed heels at their dead masters."
"Vp on a ſuddaine they together ſtart, / And driue at him as faſt as they could ding, / They flirt, they yerke, they backvvard fluce, and fling / As though the Deuill in their heeles had bin, / That to eſcape the danger he vvas in."
"Imagine twenty thouſand of them breaking into the midſt of an European Army, confounding the Ranks, overturning the Carriages, battering the Warriors Faces into Mummy, by terrible Yerks from their hinder Hoofs."

Etymology

From Middle English ȝerken (“to move suddenly, excite, bind tightly, attack”), from Old English ġearcian (“to prepare, make ready”), compare ġearc (“active, quick”). Cognate with jerk; see yare for more cognates.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: ȝerken, ġearcian

Usage

Inflected Forms

yerks (present, singular) yerking (participle, present) yerked (participle, past) yerked (past) yerks (plural)

Synonyms

foin speet chef chib ching chive enthrill gore gride jab job juke

Rhymes With

work good work manual work jerk clerk burke kirk orphan work dirk turk perk quirk

Questions

How do you pronounce yerk?: The recorded pronunciation is /jɜː(ɹ)k/.
What does yerk mean?: To stab (someone or something).
Where does yerk come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce yerk

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “yerk”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/jɜː(ɹ)k/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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