The Spanish, for example, start to yawn at poem (5)
I believe the answer is:
elegy
'poem' is the definition.
(I know that elegy is a type of poem)
'the spanish for example start to yawn' is the wordplay.
'the spanish' becomes 'el' ('the' in Spanish).
'for example' becomes 'eg' (short for 'exempli gratia', 'for example' in Latin).
'start to' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'yawn' is 'y'.
'el'+'eg'+'y'='ELEGY'
'at' is the link.
(Other definitions for elegy that I've seen before include "Type of poem" , "Sad or reflective poem" , "Mournful verse" , "Poem for the departed" , "Work by Gray?" .)