yerks

Verb

yerk (third-person singular simple present yerks, present participle yerking, simple past and past participle yerked)

1. (archaic, transitive) To stab (someone or something).
   • To doe no contriu'd mur[t]her; I lacke iniquity / Sometimes to do me ſeruice: nine or ten times, / I had thought to haue ierk'd him here, / Vnder the ribbes.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...

   Synonyms:

   foin, speet, chef, chib, ching, chive, enthrill, gore, gride, jab

2. To throw or thrust with a sudden, smart movement; to kick or strike suddenly; to jerk.
   • Their wounded steeds […] / Yerk out their armed heels at their dead masters.1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
3. (Scotland, obsolete) To strike or lash with a whip or stick.

   Synonyms:

   slash, whip

4. (Scotland, obsolete) To rouse or excite.

   Synonyms:

   exhilarate, quicken, animate, awaken, electrify, enflame, enkindle, enthrill, exagitate, excite

5. To bind or tie with a jerk.

See all 6 meanings of yerk