sallow

[ sal-oh ]

/ ˈsæl oʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sallow ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, sal·low·er, sal·low·est.

of a sickly, yellowish or lightish brown color: sallow cheeks; a sallow complexion.

verb (used with object)

to make sallow.

Nearby words

salk, jonas edward, salle à manger, sallee, sallenders, sallet, sallow, sallowy, sallust, sally, sally army, sally lunn

Origin of sallow

before 1000; Middle English sal(o)we, Old English salo; cognate with Old Norse sǫlr yellow; compare French sale dirty (< Gmc)

SYNONYMS FOR sallow

1 bilious, jaundiced.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sallow ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formssal·low·ish, adjectivesal·low·ness, noun

Definition for sallow (2 of 2)

sallow

[ sal-oh ]

/ ˈsæl oʊ /

noun British.

any of several shrubby Old World willows, especially Salix atrocinerea or the pussy willow, S. caprea.

Origin of sallow

before 900; Middle English; Old English sealh; cognate with Old High German salaha, Latin salix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sallow

Lincoln would endure bout after bout of the hypos, until a permanent sadness settled onto his sallow face.
Making Lincoln Sexy: Jerome Charyn’s Fictional President|Tom LeClair|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Junkies have their own look (emaciated, haunted, sallow) and their own junk names: Doolie, Cash, and Dupré.
American Dreams, 1953: ‘Junky’ by William S. Burroughs|Nathaniel Rich|June 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This John is sickly and sallow, his body lacking plasticity.
Caravaggio's Grand Passions|Adam Eaker|June 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The final introduction was of a sallow, frowning lump of a fellow called Shanklin.
The Devil's Asteroid|Manly Wade Wellman

Thin and sallow, the sharp features remained, and the sarcastic without the arch expression; still she had a very fashionable air.
Helen|Maria Edgeworth
He has a sallow, ugly look, and is always peeping and prying about, like a beast watching for its prey.
The Bad Family and Other Stories|Mrs. Fenwick
Her sallow face glowed with the conscious virtue bestowed by one of the animal functions upon those who have performed it.
At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern|Myrtle Reed
Well, of course that may be the new name for it, but I always called it sallow.
Airy Fairy Lilian|Margaret Wolfe Hamilton (AKA Duchess)

British Dictionary definitions for sallow (1 of 2)

sallow

/ (ˈsæləʊ) /

adjective

(esp of human skin) of an unhealthy pale or yellowish colour

verb

(tr) to make sallow

Derived Formssallowish, adjectivesallowly, adverbsallowness, noun

Word Origin for sallow

Old English salu; related to Old Norse sol seaweed (Icelandic sōlr yellowish), Old High German salo, French sale dirty

British Dictionary definitions for sallow (2 of 2)

sallow

/ (ˈsæləʊ) /

noun

any of several small willow trees, esp the Eurasian Salix cinerea (common sallow), which has large catkins that appear before the leaves

a twig or the wood of any of these trees

Derived Formssallowy, adjective

Word Origin for sallow

Old English sealh; related to Old Norse selja, Old High German salaha, Middle Low German salwīde, Latin salix

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sallow (1 of 2)

sallow

adj.

Old English salo "dusky, dark" (related to sol "dark, dirty"), from Proto-Germanic *salwa- (cf. Middle Dutch salu "discolored, dirty," Old High German salo "dirty gray," Old Norse sölr "dirty yellow"), from PIE root *sal- "dirty, gray" (cf. Old Church Slavonic slavojocije "grayish-blue color," Russian solovoj "cream-colored"). Related: Sallowness.

Word Origin and History for sallow (1 of 2)

sallow

"shrubby willow plant," Old English sealh (Anglian salh), from Proto-Germanic *salhjon (cf. Old Norse selja, Old High German salaha, and first element in German compound Salweide), from PIE *sal(i)k- "willow" (cf. Latin salix "willow," Middle Irish sail, Welsh helygen, Breton halegen "willow"). French saule "willow" is from Frankish salha, from the Germanic root. Used in Palm Sunday processions and decorations in England before the importing of real palm leaves began.

Medicine definitions for sallow

sallow

[ săl′ō ]

adj.

Of a sickly yellowish hue or complexion.

v.

To make sallow.

sallow

adjective, sal·low·er, sal·low·est.

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of sallow

Definition for sallow (2 of 2)

sallow

noun British.

Origin of sallow

Examples from the Web for sallow

British Dictionary definitions for sallow (1 of 2)

sallow

adjective

verb

Word Origin for sallow

British Dictionary definitions for sallow (2 of 2)

sallow

noun

Word Origin for sallow

Word Origin and History for sallow (1 of 2)

sallow

Word Origin and History for sallow (1 of 2)

sallow

Medicine definitions for sallow

sallow

adj.

v.