yelp
noun
- short high-pitched cry
verb
- to utter an animalistic cry (particularly that of a dog or certain types of bird)
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /jɛlp/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English ȝelp, yelp, from Old English ġielp (“boasting, arrogance, pride”), from Proto-West Germanic *gelp, from Proto-Germanic *gelpą (“boasting”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel- (“to shout”).
- An abrupt, high-pitched noise or utterance.
“The puppy let out a yelp when I stepped on her tail.”
- A type of emergency vehicle siren sounding quicker and more intense than the wail.
verb
Etymology: From Middle English ȝelpen, yelpen, from Old English ġielpan (“to boast”), from Proto-West Germanic *gelpan, from Proto-Germanic *gelpaną (“to sound off, boast”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰel‑ (“to call, shout, scream”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian jalpe, galpe (“to bleep; cheep”), German Low German galpen (“to scream, shriek, howl”), Middle High German gelpfen, gelpfen (“to roar, howl, bark, boast, sing loudly”).
- To utter an abrupt, high-pitched noise.
“The children yelped with delight as they played in the cold water.”
“I followed it as well as I could, I who have so often boasted of my memory now sniffing along for what seemed a league at least like a brachet and ready almost to yelp for joy at the thought of a place I knew, after so much emptiness, silence, and blackness.”