Yiff

2008-06-08T12:27:03Z

69.253.27.246:

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'''Yiff''' is an [[Wikipedia:onomatopoetic|onomatopoetic]] word that was originally coined in 1990 by [[Foxen]]<ref>http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=yiff</ref> while [[roleplaying]] his [[fursona]] '''littlefox'''. It was originally a positive exclamation in [[Foxen]]'s [[Foxish|Foxish language]], but the word has degenerated over time from its original meaning of "a cheerful greeting, an energetic 'yes!'" to an expression of sexual interest or activity (see [[Foxish|Foxish Language]] for details on the lexicon). It is now a very common word which can be used as an interjection, an adjective ("yiffy"), a verb, or a noun (in which case it typically refers to [[anthropomorphic]] [[erotica]]), though some prefer to use more conventional English in its place regardless.

Various sources mention it could be named after the noise foxes make while mating. ("It's the sound you get when you rub two foxes together."){{Fact}}

== Term development ==

In Foxish, '''yiff''' initially meant "yes!" or an enthused "hello!". Later, "yiff" was assigned a more sexual connotation, a meaning that had previously been assigned to '''yipp''' (a coarse form of '''yip'''.)<ref>http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=yiff</ref> This was compounded by several fox characters on [[Furry MUCK]] who were spreading a very sexual reputation for the species at about the same time as this came into common usage. (It should be noted that, while it is a matter of preference, many people highly dislike the use of "yiff" as a verb and prefer seeing the real English equivalents used, as they find that "yiff" makes sentences awkward, lacks a clear definition, or "sounds stupid.")

== Additional term usage ==

* A foxish greeting
* An expression of happiness and success
* General sexual activity or context (see [[yiffing]])
* Cybersex or [[TinySex]]. Such as when Haxon cybered with Vixen.
* The title of a planned [[Yiff!|musical theater piece]]
* [[Erotic]] or [[pornographic]] [[anthropomorphic]] art

The last is arguably the most common. Entire sites have sprung up around erotic activities, such as [[Yiffstar]], an erotic textual story and artwork archive.

== See also ==

* The Wiktionary articles for the words [[Wiktionary:yiff|yiff]], [[Wiktionary:yiffy|yiffy]], [[Wiktionary:yiffs|yiffs]], and [[Wiktionary:yiffing|yiffing]].
* #yiff on [[Anthrochat]]
* #yiff on [[FurNet (IRC)|FurNet]]

==References==
<references />

'''[[WikiFur:Did you know?#01 Septembert|Did you know?]]''' The earliest known recorded use of the word is in [[Wikipedia:Thomas Malory|Sir Thomas Malory]]'s 1485 epic, [http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/ordinal/Morte.txt ''Le Morte d'Arthur''], which was the [[Wikipedia:Middle_English_language|Middle English]] equivalent to the modern day conjunction, or noun, "'''[[Wiktionary:if|If]]'''."

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[[Category:Mature terms]]
[[Category:Animal sounds]]

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WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Yiff