v. Sc. and north. dial. [Echoic: cf. YAFFLE v. and WAFF.] intr. To bark, yelp; also, to prate, nag. Hence Yaffing vbl. sb. and ppl. a.; also Yaff sb., a bark or yelp.
1609. Ravenscrofts 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.
Hell row for fun amang the snaw, | |
And syne yaff at the moon. |