yellow

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: OE. yelow, yelwe, ȝelow, ȝeoluw, from AS. geolu; akin to D. geel, OS. & OHG. gelo, G. gelb, Icel. gulr, Sw. gul, Dan. guul, L. helvus light bay, Gr. χλόν young verdure, χλωρός greenish yellow, Skr. hari tawny, yellowish. √49. Cf. Chlorine, Gall a bitter liquid, Gold, Yolk.

1. Being of a bright saffronlike color; of the color of gold or brass; having the hue of that part of the rainbow, or of the solar spectrum, which is between the orange and the green.

Her yellow hair was browded [braided] in a tress.— Geoffrey Chaucer

A sweaty reaper from his tillage brought First fruits, the green ear and the yellow sheaf.— John Milton

The line of yellow light dies fast away.— John Keble

2. Cowardly; hence, dishonorable; mean; contemptible; as, he has a yellow streak. slang

3. Sensational; — said of some newspapers, their makers, etc.; as, yellow journal, journalism, etc. colloquial

Yellow atrophy Medicine, a fatal affection of the liver, in which it undergoes fatty degeneration, and becomes rapidly smaller and of a deep yellow tinge. The marked symptoms are black vomit, delirium, convulsions, coma, and jaundice. — Yellow bark, calisaya bark. — Yellow bass Zoology, a North American fresh-water bass (Morone interrupta) native of the lower parts of the Mississippi and its tributaries. It is yellow, with several more or less broken black stripes or bars. Called also barfish. — Yellow berry. Botany Same as Persian berry, under Persian. — Yellow boy, a gold coin, as a guinea. slang John Arbuthnot — Yellow brier. Botany See under Brier. — Yellow bugle Botany, a European labiate plant (Ajuga Chamaepitys). — Yellow bunting Zoology, the European yellow-hammer. — Yellow cat Zoology, a yellow catfish; especially, the bashaw. — Yellow copperas Mineralogy, a hydrous sulphate of iron; — called also copiapite. — Yellow copper ore, a sulphide of copper and iron; copper pyrites. See Chalcopyrite. — Yellow cress Botany, a yellow-flowered, cruciferous plant (Barbarea praecox), sometimes grown as a salad plant. — Yellow dock. Botany See the Note under Dock. — Yellow earth, a yellowish clay, colored by iron, sometimes used as a yellow pigment. — Yellow fever Medicine, a malignant, contagious, febrile disease of warm climates, attended with jaundice, producing a yellow color of the skin, and with the black vomit. See Black vomit, in the Vocabulary. — Yellow flag, the quarantine flag. See under Quarantine, and 3d Flag. — Yellow jack. (a) The yellow fever. See under 2d Jack. (b) The quarantine flag. See under Quarantine. — Yellow jacket Zoology, any one of several species of American social wasps of the genus Vespa, in which the color of the body is partly bright yellow. These wasps are noted for their irritability, and for their painful stings. — Yellow lead ore Mineralogy, wulfenite. — Yellow lemur Zoology, the kinkajou. — Yellow macauco Zoology, the kinkajou. — Yellow mackerel Zoology, the jurel. — Yellow metal. Same as Muntz metal, under Metal. — Yellow ocher Mineralogy, an impure, earthy variety of brown iron ore, which is used as a pigment. — Yellow oxeye Botany, a yellow-flowered plant (Chrysanthemum segetum) closely related to the oxeye daisy. — Yellow perch Zoology, the common American perch. See Perch. — Yellow pike Zoology, the wall-eye. — Yellow pine Botany, any of several kinds of pine; also, their yellowish and generally durable timber. Among the most common are valuable species are Pinus mitis and Pinus palustris of the Eastern and Southern States, and Pinus ponderosa and Pinus Arizonica of the Rocky Mountains and Pacific States. — Yellow plover Zoology, the golden plover. — Yellow precipitate Med. Chem., an oxide of mercury which is thrown down as an amorphous yellow powder on adding corrosive sublimate to limewater. — Yellow puccoon. Botany Same as Orangeroot. — Yellow rail Zoology, a small American rail (Porzana Noveboracensis) in which the lower parts are dull yellow, darkest on the breast. The back is streaked with brownish yellow and with black, and spotted with white. Called also yellow crake. — Yellow rattle, Yellow rocket. Botany See under Rattle, and Rocket. — Yellow Sally Zoology, a greenish or yellowish European stone fly of the genus Chloroperla; — so called by anglers. — Yellow sculpin Zoology, the dragonet. — Yellow snake Zoology, a West Indian boa (Chilobothrus inornatus) common in Jamaica. It becomes from eight to ten long. The body is yellowish or yellowish green, mixed with black, and anteriorly with black lines. — Yellow spot. (a) Anatomy A small yellowish spot with a central pit, the fovea centralis, in the center of the retina where vision is most accurate. See Eye. (b) Zoology A small American butterfly (Polites Peckius) of the Skipper family. Its wings are brownish, with a large, irregular, bright yellow spot on each of the hind wings, most conspicuous beneath. Called also Peck's skipper. See Illust. under Skipper, noun, 5. — Yellow tit Zoology, any one of several species of crested titmice of the genus Machlolophus, native of India. The predominating colors of the plumage are yellow and green. — Yellow viper Zoology, the fer-de-lance. — Yellow warbler Zoology, any one of several species of American warblers of the genus Dendroica in which the predominant color is yellow, especially Dendroica aestiva, which is a very abundant and familiar species; — called also garden warbler, golden warbler, summer yellowbird, summer warbler, and yellow-poll warbler. — Yellow wash Pharmacy, yellow oxide of mercury suspended in water, — a mixture prepared by adding corrosive sublimate to limewater. — Yellow wren Zoology (a) The European willow warbler. (b) The European wood warbler.

1. A bright golden color, reflecting more light than any other except white; the color of that part of the spectrum which is between the orange and green. “A long motley coat guarded with yellow.” William Shakespeare

2. A yellow pigment.

Cadmium yellow, Chrome yellow, Indigo yellow, King's yellow, etc. See under Cadmium, Chrome, etc. — Naples yellow, a yellow amorphous pigment, used in oil, porcelain, and enamel painting, consisting of a basic lead metantimonate, obtained by fusing together tartar emetic lead nitrate, and common salt. — Patent yellow Old Chem., a yellow pigment consisting essentially of a lead oxychloride; — called also Turner's yellow.

To make yellow; to cause to have a yellow tinge or color; to dye yellow.

To become yellow or yellower.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: 1913 supplement

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

A language from SRI proposed to meet the Ironman requirements which led to Ada.

["On the YELLOW Language Submitted to the DoD", E.W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices 13(10):22-26, Oct 1978].

(1994-11-09)