Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged sailing vessel similar to the ketch but having a smaller jigger- or mizzenmast stepped abaft the rudder.
  • noun A ship's small boat, crewed by rowers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cry out; howl; yell.
  • noun A ship's small boat, usually rowed by four or six oars; a jolly-boat.
  • noun The smallest boat used by fishermen. See cut under rowlock.
  • noun A sail-boat or small yacht of the cutter class, with a jigger and short mainboom.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To cry out like a dog or cat; to howl; to yell.
  • noun (Naut.) A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars.
  • noun A fore-and-aft-rigged vessel with two masts, a mainmast carrying a mainsail and jibs, taller than the mizzenmast and stepped a little farther forward than in a sloop, and with the mizzenmast, or jiggermast far aft, usually placed aft of the water line or aft the rudder post. The mizzenmast of a yawl is smaller, and set further aft, than that of a sloop.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun nautical A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars.
  • noun nautical A fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with two masts, main and mizzen, the mizzen stepped abaft the rudder post.
  • verb To cry out; to howl;

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb emit long loud cries
  • noun a sailing vessel with two masts; a small mizzen is aft of the rudderpost
  • noun a ship's small boat (usually rowed by 4 or 6 oars)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Dutch jol, possibly from Low German jolle.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Apparently from Middle Low German jolle or Dutch jol.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Not to be confused with "ya'll," a southern expression. As in "Ya'll come over and see us sometime, OK?"

    August 22, 2008

  • Or even confused with sexual. Sales pitch of a Southern prostitute.

    August 22, 2008