Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Kickstarting

The Word of the Day for April 5 is:
yawp • \YAWP\ • verb 1 : to make a raucous noise : squawk*2 : clamor, complain.

Example sentence:Bob was unpopular with the office supervisors because he was always yawping loudly about his working conditions.

Did you know?"Yawp" first appeared sometime in the 14th century. This verb comes from the 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 approximately 500 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."

3 Comments:

At 2:19 PM, Blogger Sergei C. said...

Fabulous! Remarkable! Understated!

 
At 3:02 PM, Blogger Pisser said...

Hey lady!

Nice YAWP...!

 
At 3:52 PM, Blogger Mona Buonanotte said...

Thanks, Sergei likes my yawp too...er...I think I mean yap...yeah, my yap...wrapped around his todger....

I need to spice this sucker up, photos and such. So much to learn, so much to do!

 

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