yaff, v. Sc. and north. dial.
(jæf)
[Echoic: cf. yaffle v.1 and waff.]
intr. To bark, yelp; also, to prate, nag. Hence ˈyaffing vbl. n. and ppl. a.; also yaff n., a bark or yelp.
| 1609 Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia 21 With all the hounds at her tail! With ‘yeaffe a yaffe! yeaffe a yaffe!’ 1808 Jamieson, To Yaff,..1. To bark,..to yelp,..2. To prate, to talk pertly. 1815 Scott Guy M. i, Will ye no let me hear what the man wants, wi' your yaffing? 1844 G. J. Pennington Pronunc. Gk. 22 A yaffing cur. 1910 G. J. Laurie in Poets of Ayrshire 205 He'll row for fun amang the snaw And syne yaff at the moon. |