▪ I. yell, n.
(jɛl)
Forms: 4–6 ȝell, 5 ȝelle, yelle, 6–7 yel, 6– yell.
[Earlier iȝel (Lay. 17799); f. yell v.]
a. An act of yelling; a sharp loud outcry, such as is described s.v. yell v. 1.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 659 Þan al þe prestis gef a ȝell, As þai had bene fendis of hell. c 1400 Anturs Arth. vii, Ȝauland ful ȝamerly, with mony loude ȝelles. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 122 One woman chiding maketh greater yell Than should an hundred pyes in one cage. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxii. 79 Than cryit my bairnis with mony ȝout and ȝell. 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. i. 75 Rodo... Ile call aloud. Iago. Doe, with like timerous accent, and dire yell, As when (by Night and Negligence) the Fire Is spied in populus Citties. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 25 ¶7 The yell of inarticulate distress. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 420 The patient ox, with stripes and yells Driv'n to the slaughter. 1816 Byron Siege Cor. xxviii, Fearfully the yell arose Of his followers, and his foes; These in joy, in fury those. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate v, Janet gave three skips on the floor, and uttered as many short shrill yells of joy. 1841 J. F. Cooper Deerslayer xix, Once or twice the Indian yell was given. 1850 Prescott Peru II. 212 Closely followed by the victorious enemy, who celebrated their success with songs or rather yells of triumph. 1855 Tennyson Maud i. i. x, The vitriol madness flushes up in the ruffian's head, Till the filthy by-lane rings to the yell of the trampled wife. |
b. Of animals.
| 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Aug. 178 As my cryes..You heare all night,..so let your yrksome yells augment. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 688 Sometime he [sc. a hare] runnes..where earth-deluing Conies keepe, To stop the loud pursuers [sc. hounds] in their yell. 1697 Dryden æneis iii. 550 The loud yell of watry Wolves to hear. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. iii. 26 Marmots..with yells of terror scattered themselves among the rocks. 1862 Burton Bk. Hunter (1863) 45 The terrific yells of that cursed biped [sc. a peacock]. |
c. An outcry in writing, e.g. in a newspaper.
| 1853 Bp. Wilberforce in R. G. Wilberforce Life (1881) II. v. 210 Once let such a course be begun, and though the yell of ‘The Record’ will be with you, it will be impossible to halt there. 1887 Spectator 4 June 758/1 This, from the ‘United Irishman’, is of course a mere yell, not to be taken seriously. |
d. A cry consisting of a set of words or syllables shouted on certain occasions, as by American college students.
| 18.. St. Nicholas XVII. 837 (Cent. Dict.) The young men..are giving the mountain calls or yells—cries adopted according to the well-known college custom. 1913 Spectator 8 Mar. 386/1 The undergraduates of Princeton and Virginia University..acclaimed their academic head..with their characteristic college yells. |
e. slang. Something or someone extremely amusing; a joke, a ‘scream’.
| 1926 E. Hemingway Sun also Rises xvi. 179 ‘Bill's a yell of laughter,’ Mike said. 1938 N. Marsh Artists in Crime xv. 238 ‘Well, of course!’ exclaimed Miss O'Dawne, greatly diverted. ‘Aren't you a yell!’ 1949 E. Coxhead Wind in West ii. 32 All these doctors and their ecologists—what a yell. 1970 [see look v. 10 a]. |
▪ II. yell, v.
(jɛl)
Forms: 1 ᵹellan, ᵹiellan, ᵹillan, ᵹyllan, 3 ȝeolle, 3–5 ȝelle, 4 ȝel, ȝele, yhelle, ȝolle, ȝulle, 4–6 yel, yelle, 5 ȝhelle, 6 Sc. ȝell, 5– yell. pa. tense strong 1 ᵹeal, pl. gullon, 3 yal, pl. gullen, ȝulle(n, ȝollen, 3–5 ȝal; weak 4–5 ȝelled, 5 ȝellede, yellid, -yd, 6 yeald, Sc. ȝeld, 6– yelled.
[OE. (Anglian) ᵹellan, (WS.) ᵹiellan, ᵹyllan, ᵹillan strong v., pa. tense ᵹeal, pl. ᵹullon = MLG. gellen, gillen weak, MDu. gellen strong (Du. gillen), OHG. gellan strong (MHG., G. weak gellen), ON. gjalla, pa. tense gall (Sw. gälla, Norw. giella); f. gell-, extended form of gel-: gal-, whence OE. galan to sing, gale v.1, -gale in nihtegale nightingale, ON. -gal in hanagal cockcrow, OS., (M)Du., OHG. galm outcry.]
1. intr. To utter a loud strident cry, esp. from some strong and sudden emotion, as rage, horror, or agony.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2040 Þer me mahte iheren þe heaðene hundes ȝellen & ȝeien & ȝuren. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 3/87 Þo cam þe deouel ȝeollinde forth. c 1290 St. Brandan 583 ibid. 235 Huy weopen ant ȝollen [Harl. MS. ȝulle] faste. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4239 So grisliche ȝal [v.rr. ȝolled, ȝelled] þat ssrewe þo. c 1305 St. Katherine 241 in E.E.P. (1862) 96 Þo gan þemperour for wraþþe loude ȝulle and rore. c 1386 Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 569 They yelleden as fendes doon in helle. c 1450 Brut ii. 422 Thei cryed alle ‘nowelle’ as high as thei myght yelle. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 176 Women are saied to chatter, churles to grunt, boies to whine, & yongmen to yel. 1575 Laneham Let. G iv b, Knights stampt, Squiers startld az steeds in a stoour Yeemen & Pagez yeald oout in the hall. 1671 Milton P.R. iv. 423 Infernal Ghosts, and Hellish Furies, round Environ'd thee, some howl'd, some yell'd, some shriek'd. 1821 Scott Kenilw. v, She yelled out on seeing him as if an adder had stung her. 1835 W. Irving Tour Prairies xii. 93 They whooped and yelled in the Indian style. 1877 Tennyson Harold v. i. 229 When all was lost, he yell'd, And bit his shield, and dash'd it on the ground. |
| fig. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. v. v. Wks. 1856 I. 141 Murder for murder, blood for blood, doth yell! |
b. Of certain birds and beasts: To emit a loud cry, either as their natural utterance or when hurt or from rage.
| a 1000 Finnsburg 6 Fuᵹelas singað, ᵹylleð græᵹhama. a 1000 Riddles xxv. 3 Ic eom wunderlicu wiht,..hwilum græde swa gos, hwilum ᵹielle swa hafoc. a 1250 Owl & Night 112 Þe faucun was wroþ wit his bridde & lude ȝal & sterne chidde. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1453 He hurtez of þe houndez, & þay Ful ȝomerly ȝaule & ȝelle. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. iv. xxiv. 2116 Alkyn best..ȝhellande ran as þai war wode Til woddis and til wildirnes. a 1529 Skelton E. Rummyng 500 She yelled lyke a calfe. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Jer. ii. 15 The lyons roared vpon him & yelled. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 60 The Dogges did yell. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 37 The cruell wound enraged him so sore, That loud he [sc. the dragon] yelled for exceeding paine. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. iii, Yell'd on the view the opening pack;..A hundred dogs bay'd deep and strong. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting ix. 408 Innumerable hyenas,..fighting, running, and yelling like demons. |
† c. Applied to loud singing or chanting.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 395 Nero..gan to ȝelle [v.r. ȝolle] and songe þe gestes of Troye. 1395 Purvey Remonstr. (1851) 18 What wisdom is this to hiren hem so dere to yellen in chirchis and abbeies. |
† d. trans. To protrude (the tongue) in uttering a yell. Obs.
| 1480 Robt. Devyll 229 in Hazl. E.P.P. 1864 I. 228 Behynde them woulde he steale, And geve them a sowce..To cause some to yell out theyr tongues longe. |
e. To urge on by yelling.
| 1868 G. Meredith Poems, Orchard & Heath ix, They raced; their brothers yelled them on. |
† 2. intr. Of an inanimate thing: To make a strident or crashing noise. Obs.
| a 1000 Riddles xxxiii. 4 Ic seah searo hweorfan, grindan wið greote, ᵹiellende faran. a 1000 Andreas 127 Guðsearo gullon, garas hrysedon. c 1205 Lay. 9797 Helmes þer gullen [c 1275 ȝollen]. c 1330 Florice & Bl. (1857) 302 The water wille ȝelle als hit ware wode And bicome on hire so red so blod. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xiv. x. 654 Soo she wente with the wynde rorynge and yellynge that it semed alle the water brent after her. 1560 B. Googe tr. Palingenius' Zodiac v. (1561) M iij b, Black storms he sends with thondres rore he makes the skies to yel. 1606 Wily Beguiled F 2, Let..sounding musicke yell Through hils, through dales. |
3. trans. To utter with a yell. Also transf.
| [a 1000 Seafarer 24 Ful oft þæt earn biᵹeal uriᵹfeþra.] 13.. Gosp. Nicodemus (A.) 1796 Howe þai lay in droupand drede And non so ȝhepe a worde to ȝelle. 1370–80 Visions of St. Paul 275 in O.E. Misc. 230 Þei ȝelleden wiþ lodly cry, ‘Poul, Michael, on vs ha merci.’ a 1450 Mirk's Festial 5 Þay styntyn neuer to cry and ȝelle: ‘Woo ys hym þat þedyr schall goo.’ 1577 Whetstone Gascoigne xxvi, The Nightingale,..When she might mourn, her sweetest layes doth yel. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 7 It [sc. heaven] resounds As if it felt with Scotland, and yell'd out Like Syllable of Dolour. 1663 Butler Hud. i. iii. 540 He tumbled down, and as he fell, Did Murther, murther, murther yell. 1700 T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. 21 Another Son of a Whore yells louder than Homer's Stentor, Two a Groat. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. i, Clamorous war-pipes yell'd the gathering sound. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. lxxi, Yelling their uncouth dirge, long daunced the kirtled clan. 1852 C. M. Yonge Cameos l. xxviii. 230 Otho..fled.., hunted by the students, all yelling abuse. |
Hence yelled (jɛld) ppl. a.; ˈyeller, one who yells.
| 1823 New Monthly Mag. VIII. 499 Some dozen yappers and yellers of all shapes and breeds. 1895 S. Crane Red Badge xxiii, At the yelled words of command the soldiers sprang forward. 1900 Lancet 3 Mar. 637/2 To prosecute a newspaper yeller for obtaining money under false pretences. |
▪ III. yell
obs. form of aisle.
| 1503–4 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1904) 252 Þe gret vynddow vythe þe Trenyte in the sovthe yell. 1540 Lincoln Dioc. Doc. (1914) 230 Within y⊇ churche of saynte peter..in y⊇ myddell yell. |
▪ IV. yell
local variant of heald.
| 1883 Simmonds Dict. Trade Suppl., Yells, in weaving, guides for the warp-threads. |
▪ V. yell
obs. or dial. f. ale, evil, hale a., yeld.