Yak

Pronunciation

• IPA: /jæk/
• Rhymes: -æk
• Homophones: yack

From Tibetan གཡག.

Full definition of yak

Noun

1. An ox-like mammal native to the Himalayas and Tibet with dark, long and silky hair a horse like tail and a full, bushy mane.

Hyponyms

• Bos mutus
• Bos grunniens
• Bos (mutus) grunniens - wild yak
• - domestic yak

Derived terms

• yak shaving
• yakless

apparently an onomatopoeia

Alternative forms

• yack

Verb

1. (intransitive) To talk, particularly informally but persistently, such as chatter.
• 1960: “You'll like Poppet. Nice dog. Wears his ears inside out. Why do dachshunds wear their ears inside out?” “I could not say, sir.” “Nor me. I've often wondered. But this won't do, Jeeves. Here we are, yakking about Jezebels and dachshunds, when we ought to be concentrating our minds ...” (P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XI)
2. (intransitive) To vomit, usually as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.

Usage notes

This is subject to the typically Australian 'have-a-verb' syntactic construction, as in 'I had a yak last night'. But this does not qualify 'yak' to be nominal.

Noun

1. A talk, particular an informal one such as chattering.
2. (slang) A laugh
3. Vomit.
4. (slang) shorthand for kayak

Related terms

• yackety-yak

Anagrams

• kay, 'kay, Kay