yank /jaŋk 
/ informal ▸ verb [with object] pull with a jerk: her hair was yanked, and she screamed
he yanked her to her feet
[no object] Liz yanked at her arm.
▸ noun [in singular] a sudden hard pull: one of the other girls gave her ponytail a yank.
– ORIGIN late 18th century (as a Scots word in the sense ‘sudden sharp blow’): of unknown origin.
EnglishOxford Dictionary of English
