yell

See also: ye'll and Yell

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /jɛl/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛl

Etymology 1

From Middle English ȝellen, yellen, from Old English ġiellan, from Proto-Germanic *gellaną. Cognate with Saterland Frisian gälje (to yell), Dutch gillen (to yell), German Low German gellen (to yell), German gellen (to yell).

Verb

yell (third-person singular simple present yells, present participle yelling, simple past and past participle yelled)

  1. (intransitive) To shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement.
  2. (transitive) To convey by shouting.
    He yelled directions to the party from the car.
  3. (informal, usually followed by at) To tell someone off, to scold or rebuke, typically in a loud and angry manner.
    If I come home late again, my dad is gonna yell at me.
    They sent another email yelling at us to get our reports in on time. (or) They sent another email yelling about how we had to get our reports in on time.
    • 2020 August 12, Nils van Dam, Dado Van Peteghem, Metasystems: How trust can change the world, Die Keure Publishing, →ISBN:
      Nobody likes to receive an email yelling 'ASAP' right in the subject line.
    • 2023 November 10, "TalkThirtyToMe", Instagram post:
      that uncle sent some [...] email yelling about how changing the name of Fort Bragg was outrageous
Usage notes
  • To yell at someone is to do so in a hostile manner, while to yell to someone means to speak loudly so as to be heard.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

yell (plural yells)

  1. A shout.
  2. A phrase to be shouted.
    • 1912, The Michigan Alumnus, volume 18, page 152:
      After the dinner a general reception was held in the spacious parlors of the hotel during which the occasion was very much enlivened with the old college songs and old college yells, which transported us all in mind and feelings []
Derived terms
Translations

Descendants

  • Indonesian: (commonly reduplicated) yel (learned)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Scots yeld (ceasing to give milk).

Adjective

yell (not comparable)

  1. (Ulster) dry (of cow)

Anagrams

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English yell.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈjɛl/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: yell
  • Rhymes: -ɛl

Noun

yell m (plural yells, no diminutive)

  1. yell, a slogan to be shouted, especially in sports or games (e.g. by players, cheerleaders or the audience)

Middle English

Noun

yell

  1. alternative form of yel