from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Yellow \Yel"low\ (y[e^]l"l[-o]), a. [Compar. {Yellower}
(y[e^]l"l[-o]*[~e]r); superl. {Yellowest}.] [OE. yelow,
yelwe, [yogh]elow, [yogh]eoluw, from AS. geolu; akin to D.
geel, OS. & OHG. gelo, G. gelb, Icel. gulr, Sw. gul, Dan.
guul, L. helvus light bay, Gr. chlo`n young verdure, chlwro`s
greenish yellow, Skr. hari tawny, yellowish. [root]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.
[1913 Webster]
Her yellow hair was browded [braided] in a tress.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
A sweaty reaper from his tillage brought
First fruits, the green ear and the yellow sheaf.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
The line of yellow light dies fast away. --Keble.
[1913 Webster]
2. Cowardly; hence, dishonorable; mean; contemptible; as, he
has a yellow streak. [Slang]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
3. Sensational; -- said of some newspapers, their makers,
etc.; as, yellow journal, journalism, etc. [Colloq.]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Yellow atrophy} (Med.), 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} (Zool.), 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}. (Bot.) Same as {Persian berry}, under
{Persian}.
{Yellow boy}, a gold coin, as a guinea. [Slang] --Arbuthnot.
{Yellow brier}. (Bot.) See under {Brier}.
{Yellow bugle} (Bot.), a European labiate plant ({Ajuga
Chamaepitys}).
{Yellow bunting} (Zool.), the European yellow-hammer.
{Yellow cat} (Zool.), a yellow catfish; especially, the
bashaw.
{Yellow copperas} (Min.), a hydrous sulphate of iron; --
called also {copiapite}.
{Yellow copper ore}, a sulphide of copper and iron; copper
pyrites. See {Chalcopyrite}.
{Yellow cress} (Bot.), a yellow-flowered, cruciferous plant
({Barbarea praecox}), sometimes grown as a salad plant.
{Yellow dock}. (Bot.) See the Note under {Dock}.
{Yellow earth}, a yellowish clay, colored by iron, sometimes
used as a yellow pigment.
{Yellow fever} (Med.), 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} (Zool.), 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} (Min.), wulfenite.
{Yellow lemur} (Zool.), the kinkajou.
{Yellow macauco} (Zool.), the kinkajou.
{Yellow mackerel} (Zool.), the jurel.
{Yellow metal}. Same as {Muntz metal}, under {Metal}.
{Yellow ocher} (Min.), an impure, earthy variety of brown
iron ore, which is used as a pigment.
{Yellow oxeye} (Bot.), a yellow-flowered plant
({Chrysanthemum segetum}) closely related to the oxeye
daisy.
{Yellow perch} (Zool.), the common American perch. See
{Perch}.
{Yellow pike} (Zool.), the wall-eye.
{Yellow pine} (Bot.), 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} (Zool.), 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}. (Bot.) Same as {Orangeroot}.
{Yellow rail} (Zool.), 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}. (Bot.) See under {Rattle},
and {Rocket}.
{Yellow Sally} (Zool.), a greenish or yellowish European
stone fly of the genus {Chloroperla}; -- so called by
anglers.
{Yellow sculpin} (Zool.), the dragonet.
{Yellow snake} (Zool.), 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) (Anat.) 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) (Zool.) 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}, n., 5.
{Yellow tit} (Zool.), 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} (Zool.), the fer-de-lance.
{Yellow warbler} (Zool.), 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} (Pharm.), yellow oxide of mercury suspended in
water, -- a mixture prepared by adding corrosive sublimate
to limewater.
{Yellow wren} (Zool.)
(a) The European willow warbler.
(b) The European wood warbler.
[1913 Webster]