Yerkish

//ˈjɜːrkɪʃ// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 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."

Example

More examples

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

Etymology

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

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.