English

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Etymology

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From up- +‎ jerk.

Noun

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upjerk (plural upjerks)

  1. An upward jerk.
    • 1877, Thomas Caverhill Jerdon, The Birds of India, page 500:
      [] rocky pinnacles, from whence he sends forth a sort of choking chattering song, if such it can be called, or, with an upjerk of the tail, hops away with a loud musical whistle, very much after the manner of the Blackbird.
    • 1923, Arthur Cleveland Bent, Life Histories of North American Birds: Wild Fowl, page 76:
      He continues — "There was the same rear up, with the head bent down, followed by an upjerk of the hind parts; the long sickle-shaped tertials, so noticeable in this species, seemed little if at all expanded, []