THE ETYMOLOGY NERD
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EtYMOLOGY? YEET!

10/20/2018

1 Comment

 
Yeet is a very interesting neologism which has been around for several years at this point. Mostly used by younger people, it can carry multiple usages, but is always used as an exclamation, indicating either excitement or rejection (and quite often associated with throwing something). Got a new pair of shoes you don't like? Just yeet them out of there. Want to come with me to the movies? Yeet. In short, it's a very confusing modern word with many different applications. There's also a whole debate whether the past tense is yeeted or yote. I'm not going to go into that, but you can hear youngsters saying both interchangeably. Onto etymology! Most sources indicate that the word originated in a 2014 Vine video, where it was the name for a specific type of dance, and then grew from there. While more accurate or in-depth sources are nonexistent, it's always cool to see some modern etymology in action with examples like this.
1 Comment
Wordy McWordface
1/3/2020 12:28:41 pm

This is not really an etymological post regarding the word “yeet.” It is a general observation. True etymology requires specific word origin and should never end stating sources are unknown or “nonexistent.”

A proper etymological definition would be a word like “Chortle” as penned by Lewis Carol as a combination of the words “chuckle” and “snort.”

I have seen online definitions of the word “yeet” just as you described. However, I have only seen one etymology reference of the origins being a combination of “yes” and “neat.” To my earlier point, my note here is not a true etymology because I have not provided sources. However, as the specific word origin remains elusive, all posts should be posed as questions rather than etymological evidence.

The observation above is valid for a definition and points to many online examples of the definition, but is not etymology.

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    Hello! I'm Adam Aleksic. I have a linguistics degree from Harvard University, where I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society and wrote my thesis on Serbo-Croatian language policy. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy traveling, trivia, philosophy, board games, conlanging, and art history. 

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