YAR! is a nostalgic MMO word for me. YAR! Was the rallying cry of my EQ test server guild, The Grove. Anytime anyone logged in there was a /gu of YAR! And usually the same number of responses per number of guildies on. I carried YAR! to DAOC and again to WoW in the guilds I was a part of and kept it a tradition. I’m not sure if any of the guilds I was a part of still use it, but I can still be found “shouting” it out when I log in to various games if I’m in any sort of guild or clan.
Funny too – not sure who, or why, it started and the last time I tried pulling it out in a new guild I was in they asked if I was a Pirate. Silly kids, Pirate speak is YARRR! And although Pirates are way cooler than Ninjas YAR is not the YARRRR you are looking for. This is a scary thought to me as I also need to replace my Tragically Hip slide in my PowerPoint with a Justin Bieber slide to remain relevant. I am getting old.
Joking aside (inside?), what does YAR mean, and where did it come from? Google-fu time (they need a Google-fu exclamation equivalent for Pirates. Sounds too Ninja-y)
Word Origin and History for yar
growling sound, imitative, attested from c.1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Growling sound makes sense. Imitative? c.1300. What was going on in the 1300s?
According to Wikipedia, lots.
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1301, to December 31, 1400. Political and natural disaster and black death ravaged 4 khanates of the Mongolian Empire. Consequently, the Mongol court was driven out of China and retreated to Mongolia, the Ilkhanate collapsed in Persia, the Chaghatayid dissolved into two parts, and the Golden Horde lost its position as great power in Eastern Europe.
I knew the word was always super cool. I mean, not black death ravaging Mongolian Empire cool, but cool nonetheless.
YAR! Was, and is, more than that. It was our rallying cry – our call, our sign. Our secret handshake! Our “Nanoo Nano”. Our kicking of the jukebox. Our “D’oh” (only much less stupefying). It was something we all did and it made our guild who we were.  A symbol, if you will.
So, if you ever see some old guy running around saying YAR! In a MMO it is probably me. Feel free to /kick, but that won’t stop me. I’ll be YAR! (ing) for as long as I play MMOs.