different between yank vs fetch

English

Etymology 1

Attested since 1822; from Scots yank. Unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• enPR: y?ngk, IPA^(key): /jæ?k/
• Rhymes: -æ?k

Noun

yank (plural yanks)

1. A sudden, vigorous pull (sometimes defined as mass times jerk, or rate of change of force).
2. (slang) A masturbation session.
   • 2012, Bonnie Dee, Summer Devon, Serious Play (page 81)

     He rested his hand on his bare chest, an innocent enough spot, but soon it drifted of its own accord down his stomach to slide beneath the waistband of his briefs. Fine. A quick yank would relieve the sexual tension that simmered in him.

Synonyms

• (sudden, vigorous pull): jerk, tug

Translations

Verb

yank (third-person singular simple present yanks, present participle yanking, simple past and past participle yanked)

1. (transitive) To pull (something) with a quick, strong action.
   • 2015, Elizabeth Royte, Vultures Are Revolting. Here’s Why We Need to Save Them., National Geographic (December 2015)[1]

     Now a white-backed rams its head down the wildebeest’s throat and yanks out an eight-inch length of trachea, ribbed like a vacuum hose.

2. (transitive, informal) To remove from distribution.

   They yanked the product as soon as they learned it was unsafe.

Synonyms

• (pull with a quick strong action): jerk, tug
• (remove from circulation): pull, recall

Derived terms

• yanker
• yank someone's chain

Translations

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “yank”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Etymology 2

Clipping of yankee

Noun

yank (plural yanks)

1. (often derogatory) A Yankee.

Scots

Etymology

Unknown; likely imitative. Compare whang (“a blow”).

Noun

yank (plural yanks)

1. a sudden tug, a jerk, a yank
2. a blow, a slap

Verb

yank (third-person singular present yanks, present participle yankin, past yankt, past participle yankt)

1. to jerk, to pull suddenly
2. to move quickly or in a lively manner

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: f?ch, IPA^(key): /f?t?/
• Rhymes: -?t?

Etymology 1

The verb is derived from Middle English fecchen (“to get and bring back, fetch; to come for, get and take away; to steal; to carry away to kill; to search for; to obtain, procure”)  [and other forms], from Old English fe??an, fæ??an, feccean (“to fetch, bring; to draw; to gain, take; to seek”), a variant of fetian, fatian (“to bring near, fetch; to acquire, obtain; to bring on, induce; to fetch a wife, marry”) and possibly related to Old English facian, f?cian (“to acquire, obtain; to try to obtain; to get; to get to, reach”), both from Proto-Germanic *fat?n?, *fatjan? (“to hold, seize; to fetch”), from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“to step, walk; to fall, stumble”). The English word is cognate with Dutch vatten (“to apprehend, catch; to grasp; to understand”), English fet (“(obsolete) to fetch”), Faroese fata (“to grasp, understand”), Swedish fatta (“to grasp, understand”), German fassen (“to catch, grasp; to capture, seize”), Icelandic feta (“to go, step”), West Frisian fetsje (“to grasp”).

The noun is derived from the verb.

Verb

fetch (third-person singular simple present fetches, present participle fetching, simple past and past participle fetched)

1. To retrieve; to bear towards; to go and get.
   • 1611 King James Bible, 1 Kings xvii. 11, 12

     He called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

     When they got home, the Rat made a bright fire in the parlour, and planted the Mole in an arm-chair in front of it, having fetched down a dressing-gown and slippers for him, and told him river stories till supper-time.

2. To obtain as price or equivalent; to sell for.

3. (nautical) To bring or get within reach by going; to reach; to arrive at; to attain; to reach by sailing.
4. (intransitive) To bring oneself; to make headway; to veer; as, to fetch about; to fetch to windward.
5. (rare, literary) To take (a breath), to heave (a sigh)
6. To cause to come; to bring to a particular state.
   • 1879, William Barnes, A Witch

     They couldn't fetch the butter in the churn.

7. (obsolete) To recall from a swoon; to revive; sometimes with to.
8. To reduce; to throw.
   • 1692, Robert South, sermon 28

     The sudden trip in wrestling that fetches a man to the ground.

9. (archaic) To accomplish; to achieve; to perform, with certain objects or actions.
   • 1631, Ben Jonsons, Chloridia

     Ixion […] turn'd dancer, does nothing but cut capreols, fetch friskals, and leads lavaltoes

   • 1692, Robert South, sermon 28

     He fetches his blow quick and sure.

10. (nautical, transitive) To make (a pump) draw water by pouring water into the top and working the handle.

Conjugation

Alternative forms

• fatch, fotch (dialectal)

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

fetch (plural fetches)

1. (also figuratively) An act of fetching, of bringing something from a distance.
   1. (computing, specifically) An act of fetching data.

2. The object of fetching; the source of an attraction; a force, propensity, or quality which attracts.
3. A stratagem or trick; an artifice.

   Synonyms: contrivance, dodge

   • 1665, Robert South, "Jesus of Nazareth proved the true and only promised Messiah", in Twelve Sermons Preached Upon Several Occasions, Volume 3, 6th Edition, 1727:

     Every little fetch of wit and criticism.

   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 29:

     And as to your cant of living single, nobody will believe you. This is one of your fetches to avoid complying with your duty […].

Interjection

fetch

1. (Utah) Minced oath for fuck

References

• 20 Things Only Utahns Will Understand And Appreciate

Etymology 2

Origin uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested:

• From fetch-life (“(obsolete, rare) a deity, spirit, etc., who guides the soul of a dead person to the afterlife; a psychopomp”).
• From the supposed Old English *fæcce (“evil spirit formerly thought to sit on the chest of a sleeping person; a mare”).
• From Old Irish fáith (“seer, soothsayer”).

Noun

fetch (plural fetches)

1. (originally Ireland, dialectal) The apparition of a living person; a person's double, the sight of which is supposedly a sign that they are fated to die soon, a doppelganger; a wraith (“a person's likeness seen just after their death; a ghost, a spectre”). [from 18th c.]

Derived terms

• fetch candle

Translations

References

Further reading

• fetch (folklore) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• fetch (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Fecht