yellow

adj., n., & v.
—adj.
1 of the colour between green and orange in the spectrum, of buttercups, lemons, egg-yolks, or gold.
2 of the colour of faded leaves, ripe wheat, etc.
3 having a yellow skin or complexion.
4 colloq. cowardly.
5 (of looks, feelings, etc.) jealous, envious, or suspicious.
6 (of newspapers etc.) unscrupulously sensational.
—n.
1 a yellow colour or pigment.
2 yellow clothes or material (dressed in yellow).
3 a a yellow ball, piece, etc., in a game or sport. b the player using such pieces.
4 (usu. in comb.) a yellow moth or butterfly.
5 (in pl.) jaundice of horses etc.
6 US a peach-disease with yellowed leaves.
—v.tr. & intr. make or become yellow.
Phrases and idioms:
yellow arsenic = ORPIMENT. yellow-belly 1 colloq. a coward.
2 any of various fish with yellow underparts. yellow card Football a card shown by the referee to a player being cautioned. yellow fever a tropical virus disease with fever and jaundice.
yellow flag
1 a flag displayed by a ship in quarantine.
2 an iridaceous plant, Iris pseudacorus, with slender sword-shaped leaves and yellow flowers.
yellow jack
1 = yellow fever.
2 = yellow flag. yellow line (in the UK) a line painted along the side of the road in yellow either singly or in pairs to denote parking restrictions. yellow metal brass of 60 parts copper and 40 parts zinc. Yellow Pages propr. a section of a telephone directory on yellow paper and listing business subscribers according to the goods or services they offer. the yellow peril the political or military threat regarded as emanating from Asian peoples, esp. the Chinese. yellow rattle a yellow-flowered plant of the genus Rhinanthus. yellow rocket see ROCKET(2). yellow spot the point of acutest vision in the retina. yellow streak colloq. a trait of cowardice.
Derivatives:
yellowish adj. yellowly adv. yellowness n. yellowy adj.
Etymology: OE geolu, geolo f. WG, rel. to GOLD