Definitions
Sorry, no definitions found. Check out and contribute to the discussion of this word!
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word yirn.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
leaden commented on the word yirn
<b>YIRN,</b> <i>v.</i>¹ and <i>sb.</i>¹ Sc. Irel. Also written <b>yurn</b> Sc. (JAM.) ［jərm.］ <b>1.</b> <i>v.</i> To whine, complain; to grumble; also used with <i>at.</i> See <b>Girn</b>.
Sc. Nae mair sal Ephraim yirn at Judah, WADDELL <i>Isaiah</i> (1879) xi. 13. Cld. Applied to the whimpering fretfulness of a sickly child (JAM.). Gall. That day they had nathing to whine ’bout or yurn. MACTAGGART <i>Encycl.</i> (1824) 78, ed. 1876. N.I.¹
<b>2.</b> To distort the face; to make grimaces.
Sc. He yirned and struck back when I hit him (G.W.).
<b>3.</b> <i>sb.</i> A complaint; a whine.
Sc. O Lord, afore thee is a’ my yirn, WADDELL <i>Ps.</i> xxxviii. 9. e.Sc. The prayer o’ the Pharisee was mair worthy than sic a yirn an’ yelp as yours. SETOUN <i>R. Urquhart</i> (1896) xxvi.
<b>YIRN,</b> <i>v.</i>² Sc. To twist; to entwine.
He went to wind worsted, but it yirned and hindered him. He threw his line across the stream, but it caught a branch and got yirned (or yirned round it) (G.W.).
<b>YIRN,</b> <i>sb.</i>² Sc. An eagle. Gall. MACTAGGART <i>Encycl.</i> (1824). See <b>Erne.</b>
<b>YIRN,</b> <b>YIRP,</b> see <b>Earn,</b> <i>v.</i>², <b>Yerp.</b>
<blockquote>― Joseph Wright, ed. <i>The English Dialect Dictionary, Vol. IV</i>, p. 582. London: Henry Frowde, 1905. <i>Google Books.</i></blockquote>
January 5, 2014