Other forms: yelps, yelping
To yelp is to give a short sharp cry of pain or excitement. The dog yelped, yelped in surprise, a yelp of pain.
It is short and involuntary, which is what separates it from a howl or a bark — a yelp is one sound and it is not chosen. It suits dogs and people equally. Note that the Old English word meant boasting, and the sense narrowed from loud speech to a sharp cry.
1verbyelpTo give a short sharp cry of pain or excitement.
“The dog yelped when I accidentally stepped on its paw.”
yelp is a sharp cry.
Old English gielp meant boasting or loud speech, from a root meaning to shout. The sense narrowed to a sharp cry.
Proto-Indo-European
*gʰel- — to shout
Proto-Germanic
*gelpą — boasting
Proto-West Germanic
*gelp
Old English
ġielp — boasting, arrogance, pride
Middle English
ȝelp
English, today
yelp
From Middle English ȝelp, yelp, from Old English ġielp (“boasting, arrogance, pride”), from Proto-West Germanic gelp, from Proto-Germanic gelpą (“boasting”), from Proto-Indo-European gʰel- (“to shout”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA