Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Yank

Yank , noun

[Compare Scot. yank a sudden and severe blow.]

A jerk or twitch. [Colloquial United States]

Yank , transitive verb

To twitch; to jerk. [Colloquial United States]

Yank , noun

An abbreviation of Yankee. [Slang]