yammer

verb /ˈjæm.ə/

1. To complain peevishly.

   intransitive

2. To talk loudly and persistently.

   intransitive

3. To repeat on and on, usually loudly or in complaint.

   transitive

4. To make an outcry; to clamor.

   intransitive, rare

   It was a ship, but a whale to the Dark Nebula’s minnow; and on its side was the Spaceship-and-Sun of the Empire. Every alarm on the ship yammered hysterically.

Where it comes from

From Middle English ȝameren, ȝaumeren, yemeren, ȝomeren, from Old English ġeōmrian (“to lament”), from Proto-West Germanic *jāmarōn, from Proto-Germanic *jēmarōną (“to show misery or sadness”), from Proto-Germanic *jēmaraz (“miserable, sorrowful, sad”), from Proto-Indo-European *yem- (“to hold, match, defeat”). Reinforced by cognate Middle Dutch jammeren (modern Dutch jammeren), from the same ultimate origin. Cognate also with Scots yammer, Saterland Frisian jammerje, West Frisian jammerje, German Low German jammern, German jammern, Danish jamre, Norwegian jamre. Compare also Old Norse amra (“to howl, wail, yammer”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry yammer (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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