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Yank

(yăngk)

1. Informal A native or inhabitant of a northern US state, especially a Union soldier during the Civil War.

2. Chiefly British A native or inhabitant of the United States.

yank

(yăngk)

v. yanked, yank·ing, yanks

v.tr.

1. To pull with a quick, strong movement; jerk: yanked the emergency cord.

2. Informal To extract or remove abruptly: yanked the starting pitcher early in the game.

v.intr.

To pull on something suddenly.

A sudden vigorous pull; a jerk.

[Origin unknown.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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