WordofTheDay.US

Added 10 October 2026

yawl

/jɔːl/ noun

Categories: ThingsRare Words

Latin root: alvus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about yawl at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A ship's small boat (usually rowed by 4 or 6 oars).
  2. A sailing vessel with two masts; a small mizzen is aft of the rudderpost.

verb

  1. Emit long loud cries.
    wail in self-pity

Origin

Apparently from Low German and Middle Low German jolle, or Dutch jol, possibly ultimately from a Proto-Germanic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlos (“tube”), see also Lithuanian aulas, Norwegian aul, Hittite [script needed] (auli-, “tube-shaped organ in the neck”), Albanian hollë, Latin alvus.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: roarululatehowlwailyawlerwoodshipwhiffyawlsmanjiggerwaterboatpaddlegondola

Back to today's word