Also ya, yar. [Echoic.] An exclamation of disgust, aversion, or malicious defiance. Also a vague or meaningless exclamation used by or attributed to negroes.
1812. H. & J. Smith, Rej. Addr., Rebuilding, v. While shout and scoff, Ya! ya! off! off! Like thunderbolt on Surya’s ear-drum fell.
1840. Dickens, Old C. Shop, lxii. ‘A very excellent lodger, sir. I hope we may not lose him.’ ‘Yah!’ cried the dwarf. ‘Never thinking of anybody but yourself.’
1863. Kingsley, Water-Bab., iv. He turned to bay … and bit the professor’s finger till it bled. ‘Oh! ah! yah!’ cried he. Ibid., v. ‘Yar!’… ‘you little meddlesome wretch.’
1863. Reade, Hard Cash, xi. ‘What him mean? what him mean? Yah! yah!’
1868. Holme Lee, B. Godfrey, xxxvi. Gerrard, with a ‘yah!’ of repulsion, dropped the thing.
1890. Henty, With Lee in Virg., 299. ‘Yah!’ the old man shouted. ‘Do you suppose we are going to give in to five men?’
Hence Yah v. intr., to shout ‘yah!’ nonce-wd.
1904. Sat. Rev., 23 Jan., 101/2. Yahing at Russia and cheering the ‘brave little Japs.’
