Yacks

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /jæks/

Definitions

1. To talk at length in a casual or trivial manner; to chatter or babble continuously; to engage in prolonged informal conversation
2. To engage in nonstop or trivial talking; to speak incessantly without much substance; to hold lengthy informal discussions
3. To carry on an unending or lighthearted verbal exchange; to gab or prattle aimlessly; to conduct extended casual speech sessions

Etymology: "Yacks" is the third-person singular present form of "yack," a verb meaning to chatter at length, and it is also the plural of the noun "yack." The verb descends from the older dialectal form "yack," which is the source's only recorded origin for the word, so its history is largely one of regional speech rather than a learned borrowing from another language. Because the word began as a dialect form, it has never been pinned to a single standard spelling in the way many formal English words have, and the neighbouring "yak" spelling is closely tied to it in everyday use. The noun sense, a person who talks at length, follows naturally from the verb: the same sound of unending, rapid speech is attached to the talker.

Synonyms: chatters, talks, jabbers, gabbers, prattles

Antonyms: silences, quiets, hushes