# yellow

Pronunciation: say "YEL-oh" US /ˈjɛl.oʊ/, UK /ˈjɛl.əʊ/, AUS /ˈjel.əʉ/

## Adjective

1. Having the color of lemons, sunflowers, and egg yolks.
   - Simple: Having the bright color of lemons, sunflowers, and ripe bananas.
   - _We found the house easily because its front door was bright yellow._
   - _The kids drew a big yellow sun in the corner of every picture._
7. Showing a lack of courage; cowardly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Too afraid to do something brave, or cowardly.
   - _His teammates thought he was yellow for backing down so easily._
   - _She was too yellow to admit that she had made the mistake._
8. Marked by sensationalism, lurid content, and little regard for factual accuracy.
   - Simple: Using shocking or exaggerated stories that may not be true, just to sell more copies.
   - _The tabloid's yellow coverage focused on scandal rather than facts._
   - _When sales began to fall, the paper switched to yellow journalism, filling its front page with lurid crime stories and invented scandals._
5. An offensive term relating to East Asian people, their supposed skin color, or their nations.
   - Simple: A rude, offensive word for people from East Asia, such as China or Japan.
   - _Politicians warned their voters against the so-called yellow peril._
   - _Editorials of the period blamed every social ill on yellow immigration._
12. Associated with a political party whose color is yellow, such as the Liberal Democrats in Britain or the Free Democrats in Germany. *(UK)*
   - Simple: Linked to a political party that uses yellow as its color, like Britain's Liberal Democrats.
   - _The constituency turned yellow after the Liberal Democrats won the by-election._
   - _Yellow strongholds in the southwest delivered several seats this time._

## Noun

2. The color of sunflower petals and lemons, evoked by light of a wavelength around 580 nm and sitting between green and orange on the spectrum.
   - Simple: The bright color of lemons, sunflowers, and school buses.
   - _Painters often use yellow to suggest warmth and sunlight._
   - _A streak of yellow ran across the evening sky._
4. The caution card a referee displays to formally warn a player for a foul or misconduct.
   - Simple: A warning card that a referee shows a player for breaking the rules.
   - _He received a yellow for arguing with the referee._
   - _Two yellows in one match meant an automatic sending-off._
6. The middle light of a traffic signal, telling drivers to stop short of the intersection if they can do so safely. *(US)*
   - Simple: The middle traffic light, which warns drivers to stop if they can do so safely.
   - _A flashing yellow warns drivers to slow down and proceed with caution._
   - _He thought he could get through on the yellow, but the light turned red before he reached the intersection._
10. In snooker or pool, a yellow ball, or one of the group of yellow balls.
   - Simple: A yellow ball in snooker or pool.
   - _After the last red, the player lined up the yellow first._
   - _A clean strike sent the yellow into the corner pocket._
11. Any of a number of butterflies in the pierid subfamily Coliadinae, particularly those species that are yellow.
   - Simple: A small butterfly with butter-colored wings, often seen in fields and gardens.
   - _A clouded yellow drifted across the field toward the hedgerow._
   - _Dozens of yellows gathered at the damp edge of the puddle._

## Verb

3. To become yellow or more yellow, or to make something do so, often with age.
   - Simple: To turn yellow, or make something turn yellow, often because it is old.
   - _Cheap paper yellows quickly when left in direct sunlight._
   - _The ivory piano keys had begun to yellow with age._

## Adjective

9. Having a light complexion, said of a Black American of partly white ancestry; equivalent to high yellow. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: Light-skinned, used of a Black person who also has some white family background, now old-fashioned.
13. Of mixed Aboriginal Australian and Caucasian ancestry; now dated and offensive. *(dated, Australia)*
   - Simple: Of mixed Aboriginal and white family background, now seen as offensive.

## Other meanings

- (interjection) Said to signal that one wants a temporary pause from current sexual activity, rather than a full stop.

## Origin

From Middle English 'yelwe', from Old English 'geolu' ('yellow'), tracing back through Proto-Germanic *gelwaz to the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰelh₃- ('green, yellow'); it is related to Dutch 'geel', German 'gelb', and Swedish 'gul', among many others. The verb comes from the adjective, via Old English 'geolwian'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/yellow (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).