yellow

[ yel-oh ]

noun

1. a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nanometers.
2. the yolk of an egg.
3. a yellow pigment or dye.
4. Informal. yellow light.
5. Slang. yellow jacket ( def 2 ).

adjective

, yel·low·er, yel·low·est.

1. of the color yellow.
2. Disparaging and Offensive.
   1. designating or pertaining to an Asian person or Asian peoples.
   2. designating or pertaining to a person of mixed racial origin, especially of black and white heritage.
3. having a sallow or yellowish complexion.
4. Informal. cowardly.

   Synonyms: fearful, timorous, craven

5. 1. (of a newspaper, book, etc.) featuring articles, pictures, or other content that is sensational, especially morbidly or offensively so:

      yellow rags;

      yellow biographies.

   2. dishonest in editorial comment and the presentation of news, especially in sacrificing truth for sensationalism, as in yellow journalism yellow press
6. jealous; envious.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become yellow:

   Yellow the sheets with dye.

   The white stationery had yellowed with age.

yellow

/ ˈjɛləʊ /

noun

1. any of a group of colours that vary in saturation but have the same hue. They lie in the approximate wavelength range 585–575 nanometres. Yellow is the complementary colour of blue and with cyan and magenta forms a set of primary colours xanthous
2. a pigment or dye of or producing these colours
3. yellow cloth or clothing

   dressed in yellow

4. the yolk of an egg
5. a yellow ball in snooker, etc
6. any of a group of pieridine butterflies the males of which have yellow or yellowish wings, esp the clouded yellows ( Colias spp.) and the brimstone

adjective

1. of the colour yellow
2. yellowish in colour or having parts or marks that are yellowish

   yellow jasmine

3. having a yellowish skin; Mongoloid
4. informal.
   cowardly or afraid
5. offensively sensational, as a cheap newspaper (esp in the phrase yellow press )

verb

1. to make or become yellow

Sensitive Note

It is perceived as insulting to use yellow to describe a person of Asian or mixed racial origin, as in the terms yellow peril and high yellow.

Derived Forms

• ˈyellowness, noun
• ˈyellowish, adjective
• ˈyellowly, adverb
• ˈyellowy, adjective

Other Words From

• yellow·ly adverb
• yellow·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of yellow¹

First recorded before 900; 1895–1900 yellow fordef 9; Middle English yelou (adjective and noun), Old English geolo, geolu (adjective); cognate with Dutch geel, German gelb, Old Norse gulr; akin to Latin helvus “pale yellow,” Persian zar “gold” ( jargon ²( def ) ), Sanskrit hári “brown, green, yellow”

Word History and Origins

Origin of yellow¹

Old English geolu; related to Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Old Norse gulr, Latin helvus

Example Sentences

“When I say everybody and their mama got court notices, the entire neighborhood of Harbour House had yellow court notices on every single mailbox.”

From ProPublica

It’s a species of mosquito that carries several deadly diseases, such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

From Singularity Hub 

The Hangzhou app asked people to self-report their travel and health information, and then gave them a color code of red, yellow, or green.

From MIT Technology Review

“We’ve seen some really beautiful bright yellows, sort of golden-orangey colors, through to some really deep purple,” Filomena Pettolino, a scientist on MacMillan’s team, told Australia’s ABC News.

From Singularity Hub 

While our sun is called a yellow dwarf star, it’s not that small.

From Science News For Students

Abraham, a yellow cab driver and student, feels that blacks are targeted unfairly by the police.

From The Daily Beast

Some of the items Indonesian military aircraft saw were long yellow tubes.

From The Daily Beast

With the first set I did, the colors of the couch determined that the rest of it would be blue and yellow and white.

From The Daily Beast

Behind him stood a flock of fifth-grade boys—and two second-grade girls—all of them wearing the exact same yellow hat.

From The Daily Beast

Cosby then allegedly ordered a pre-paid yellow cab that transported Allison home.

From The Daily Beast

The pink flowers are the largest while those of a yellow color are the smallest.

From Project Gutenberg

The flowers grow in clusters from the extremities of the stalk; they are yellow externally and of a delicate red within.

From Project Gutenberg

He was cast down to think that he might have spared himself the trouble of donning his beautiful yellow doublet from Paris.

From Project Gutenberg

In the presence of bromin the chloroform, which settles to the bottom, assumes a yellow color.

From Project Gutenberg

As she peered into the face of Dr. Ashton, her own was scarlet and yellow, and her voice rose to a shriek.

From Project Gutenberg