First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
1yellow
adjective yel·low \ˈye-(ˌ)lō, dial ˈye-lər or ˈya-\
: having the color of the sun or of ripe lemons
: afraid in a way that makes you unable to do what is right or expected
: containing news that is meant to shock people and that is not true or is only partly true
Full Definition of YELLOW
1
2
a : featuring sensational or scandalous items or ordinary news sensationally distorted <yellow journalism> b : mean, cowardly
— yel·low·ish \ˈye-lə-wish\ adjective
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Origin of YELLOW
Middle English yelwe, yelow, from Old English geolu; akin to Old High German gelo yellow, Latin helvus light bay, Greek chlōros greenish yellow, Sanskrit hari yellowish
Related to YELLOW
- Synonyms
- chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, craven, dastardly, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], poltroon, pusillanimous, recreant, spineless, unheroic, cowardly
- Antonyms
- brave, courageous, daring, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, gutsy, hardy, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, valiant, valorous
2yellow
noun
: the color of the sun or of ripe lemons
Full Definition of YELLOW
1
: something yellow or marked by a yellow color: as a sometimes offensive : a person having yellowish or light brown skin b : the yolk of an egg
2
a : a color whose hue resembles that of ripe lemons or sunflowers or is that of the portion of the spectrum lying between green and orange b : a pigment or dye that colors yellow
3
plural : jaundice
4
plural but sing in constr : any of several plant diseases caused especially by phytoplasmas and marked by yellowing of the foliage and stunting
See yellow defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of YELLOW
before 12th century
3yellow
verb
: to become yellow or to cause (something) to become yellow
Full Definition of YELLOW
intransitive verb
: to become or turn yellow
transitive verb
: to make yellow : give a yellow tinge or color to <yellowed by time>
See yellow defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of YELLOW
15th century
Yellow
geographical name
Definition of YELLOW
— see huang
YELLOWISH Defined for Kids
1yellow
adjective yel·low \ˈye-lō\
Definition of YELLOW for Kids
1
: of the color of a lemon : colored yellow <a yellow raincoat>
2
: cowardly 1
2yellow
noun
Definition of YELLOW for Kids
1
: the color of a lemon
2
: something (as the yolk of an egg) yellow in color
3yellow
verb
yel·lowedyel·low·ing
Definition of YELLOW for Kids
: to turn yellow
Yellow
geographical name
Definition of YELLOW for Kids
2
sea section of East China Sea between N China, North Korea, & South Korea
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