*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of yaw

Unknown, first attested in the mid-16th century. Perhaps related to yar (“quick, agile”), or alternatively from Old Norse jaga (“to chase, drive, move back and forth”), from Middle Low German jagen (“to hunt, chase, purs

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

The rotation of an aircraft, ship, or missile about its vertical axis so as to cause the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, ship, or missile to deviate from the flight line or heading in its horizontal plane. · The angle between the longitudinal axis of a projectile at any moment and the tangent to the trajectory in the corresponding point of flight of the projectile. · A vessel's motion rotating about the vertical axis, so the bow yaws from side to side; a characteristic of unsteadiness. · The extent of yawing; the rotation angle about the vertical axis.

verb

To turn about the vertical axis while maintaining course. · To swerve off course to port or starboard. · To steer badly, zigzagging back and forth across the intended course of a boat; to go out of the line of course. · To rise in blisters, breaking in white froth, as cane juice in the clarifiers in sugar works.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Unknown, first attested in the mid-16th century. Perhaps related to yar (“quick, agile”), or alternatively from Old Norse jaga (“to chase, drive, move back and forth”), from Middle Low German jagen (“to hunt, chase, pursue”), from Old Saxon *jagōn, from Proto-West Germanic *jagōn, from Proto-Germanic *jakkōną (“to hunt”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionjaganon · to chase, drive, move back and forth
  • Derivation mentionjagengml · to hunt, chase, pursue
  • Derivation mention*jagōnosx
  • Derivation mention*jagōngmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*jakkōnągem-pro · to hunt
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unknown",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Unknown"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "jaga",
        "t": "to chase, drive, move back and forth"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse jaga (“to chase, drive, move back and forth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gml",
        "3": "jagen",
        "t": "to hunt, chase, pursue"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German jagen (“to hunt, chase, pursue”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "osx",
        "3": "*jagōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon *jagōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*jagōn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *jagōn"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*jakkōną",
        "t": "to hunt"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *jakkōną (“to hunt”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "yar",
      "yar#English"
    ],
    [
      "jaga",
      "jaga#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "jagen",
      "jagen#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "*jagōn",
      "Reconstruction:Old Saxon/jagon"
    ],
    [
      "*jagōn",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/jagōn"
    ],
    [
      "*jakkōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/jakkōną"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The rotation of an aircraft, ship, or missile about its vertical axis so as to cause the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, ship, or missile to deviate from the flight line or heading in its horizontal plane.",
        "The angle between the longitudinal axis of a projectile at any moment and the tangent to the trajectory in the corresponding point of flight of the projectile.",
        "A vessel's motion rotating about the vertical axis, so the bow yaws from side to side; a characteristic of unsteadiness.",
        "The extent of yawing; the rotation angle about the vertical axis."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 159581
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To turn about the vertical axis while maintaining course.",
        "To swerve off course to port or starboard.",
        "To steer badly, zigzagging back and forth across the intended course of a boat; to go out of the line of course.",
        "To rise in blisters, breaking in white froth, as cane juice in the clarifiers in sugar works."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "f046b2f4452a66894699a5111e534a310e7ef634173e9b4938ba79f5064825e0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6874e4a4d4c920b689c227b078972c55f97e6e3fb2e323ac4a48c4979a148753",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 159582
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for yaw →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-eWF3