Yerkish

Y4E1R1K5I1S1H4
/ˈjɜːrkɪʃ/

proper noun

An artificial language of lexigrams developed for use by non-human primates.

Scrabble 17
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. An artificial language of lexigrams developed for use by non-human primates.

    Kanzi's ability to ‘speak’ in Yerkish and understand English is impressive.

    2022, Morten H. Christiansen, Nick Chater, chapter 8, in The Language Game […] , →ISBN

Origin

From Yerkes + -ish, after Robert M. Yerkes, the founder of the laboratory within which the lexigrams were first used.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Shirkeyshrieky
Cite this entry
APA

Yerkish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yerkish

MLA

“Yerkish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yerkish. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Yerkish,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yerkish.

Source: Yerkish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.