yellow

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Contents

English [edit]

Various shades of yellow

Alternative forms [edit]

Etymology [edit]

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”)).

Pronunciation [edit]

Adjective [edit]

yellow (comparative yellower, superlative yellowest)

  1. Having yellow as its colour.
    • 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.
    yellow constituencies
  6. (Germany, politics) Related to the Free Democratic Party.
    The black-yellow coalition

Synonyms [edit]

Derived terms [edit]

terms derived from yellow

Translations [edit]

having yellow as its colour
lacking courage

Noun [edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia yellow (plural yellows)

  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 (yellow[s] and red[s]); 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”, BBC Sport:
      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 [edit]

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

Antonyms [edit]

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

Hyponyms [edit]

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

colour

Verb [edit]

yellow (third-person singular simple present yellows, present participle yellowing, simple past and past participle yellowed)

  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.

Translations [edit]

to become yellow or more yellow
to cause to become yellow or more yellow

See also [edit]

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