Yellow

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈjÉ›ləʊ/
• US enPR: yÄ•l'ō, IPA: /ˈjÉ›loÊŠ/

Alternative forms

• yeallow obsolete, yeller slang

Origin

From Middle English yelwe, yelou, from Old English ġeolu, ġeolwe, from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃-u̯os (compare Welsh gelw ("pale"), Latin helvus ("dull yellow")), from *ǵʰelh₃ ("gleam, yellow") (compare Irish geal ("white, bright"), Lithuanian žalias ("green"), Ancient Greek χλωρός (chlōrós, "light green"), Persian زر (zar, "yellow"), Sanskrit हरि (hari, "greenish-yellow")).

Full definition of yellow

Adjective

1. Having yellow as its colour.
• MiltonA sweaty reaper from his tillage brought
  First fruits, the green ear and the yellow sheaf.
• KebleThe line of yellow light dies fast away.
• 1911, J. Milton Hayes, "The green eye of the little yellow god,"There's a one-eyed yellow idol
  To the north of Kathmandu;
  There's a little marble cross below the town;
  And a brokenhearted woman
  Tends the grave of 'Mad' Carew,
  While the yellow god for ever gazes down.
2. (informal) Lacking courage.
3. (publishing, journalism) Characterized by sensationalism, lurid content, and doubtful accuracy.
• 2004, Doreen Carvajal, "Photo edict muffles gossipy press," International Herald Tribune, 4 Oct. (retrieved 29 July 2008),The denizens of the gossipy world of the pink press, purple prose and yellow tabloids are shivering over disputed photographs of Princess Caroline of Monaco.
4. (chiefly derogatory and offensive) Asian (relating to Asian people).
5. (UK, politics) Related to the Liberal Democrats.
• 2012 March 2, Andrew Grice, "Yellow rebels take on Clegg over NHS 'betrayal'", The Independent
6. yellow constituencies
7. (Germany, politics) Related to the Free Democratic Party.The black-yellow coalition

Synonyms

• (lacking courage) cowardly

Antonyms

• (having yellow as its colour) nonyellow, unyellow

Derived terms

Noun

1. The colour of gold or butter; the colour obtained by mixing green and red light, or by subtracting blue from white light.
2. (US) The intermediate light in a set of three traffic lights, the illumination of which indicates that drivers should stop short of the intersection if it is safe to do so.
3. (snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of 2 points.
4. (pocket billiards) One of two groups of object balls, or a ball from that group, as used in the principally British version of pool that makes use of unnumbered balls (the (yellows and reds); contrast stripes and solids in the originally American version with numbered balls).
5. (sports) yellow card
• 2011, April 15, Saj Chowdhury, Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest, Andrew Surman fired in what proved to be a 37th-minute winner before Forest's Paul Konchesky saw red late on. That second yellow for the loan signing came in stoppage time and did not affect the outcome of a game which Norwich dominated.

Synonyms

• (intermediate light in a set of three traffic lights) (British) amber

Antonyms

• (intermediate light in a set of three traffic lights) red, green

Hyponyms

• (color) bronze yellow, cadmium yellow, fast yellow AB, quinoline yellow, school bus yellow, sulfur yellow, sulphur yellow, taxi yellow, yellow-green, yellow 2G

Derived terms

• see yellow

Verb

1. (intransitive) To become yellow or more yellow.
• 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York Review Books 2006, p. 47:Then suddenly, with the least warning, the sky yellows and the Chergui blows in from the Sahara, stinging the eyes and choking with its sandy, sticky breath.
2. (transitive) To make (something) yellow or more yellow.