Yaw
/jɔː/noun
To rotate or swing around a vertical axis, especially a ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.
Did you know?The nautical sense appeared centuries before aviation borrowed “yaw” to describe an aircraft’s turning about its vertical axis.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic period
Germanic
*jagōn / *jagjaną
“A reconstructed Germanic family associated with pursuing, chasing, or hunting; the connection to yaw is probable but not certain.”
Medieval period
Dutch
jagen
“To hunt or chase; a form often proposed as the source of the nautical term.”
15th–16th Century
Dutch
jacht
“Hunt or chase; also associated with fast hunting vessels, giving English “yacht” its separate but related history.”
16th Century
English
yaw
“To move or steer off course from a straight line, especially of a ship; the word’s precise borrowing path remains uncertain.”
19th Century
English
yaw
“To swing or deviate laterally, particularly in nautical use.”
20th Century
English
yaw
“Rotation around a vertical axis, as in aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and vehicles.”