Yip

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /jɪp/

Definitions

1. A brief, sharp sound produced usually by small canines, reflecting excitement or alertness
2. A quick, sharp cry often made by small dogs, expressing excitement or attention
3. A high-pitched yelp or bark that is brief and usually indicates alertness or eagerness

Etymology: Yip is one of those words that sounds exactly like what it names, and that is most of its story. The likeliest source is a dialect verb "yip" meaning to cheep like a small bird, and it belongs to a family of imitative sounds that English has long used for high, sharp noises. Its Middle English relative "yippen" appears in the Middle English Dictionary, which records a verb with the same basic sense of making a shrill cry, so the word has been around in some form for centuries before anyone applied it to a dog. The sense that now dominates, a quick yelp from a small dog, is a narrowing of that older bird-and-animal sound. The noun and verb follow the same pattern: a short, high utterance that the word's sound seems to mimic. Its origin is probably imitative, meaning the sound was coined to resemble the cry itself rather than borrowed from another language.

Synonyms: yelp, bark

Antonyms: silence