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yellowest

 - 4 dictionary results

yel⋅low

  [yel-oh] noun, adjective, -er, -est, verb
Use yellowest in a Sentence
–noun
1. a color like that of egg yolk, ripe lemons, etc.; the primary color between green and orange in the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 570 and 590 nm.
2. the yolk of an egg.
3. a yellow pigment or dye.
4. Informal. yellow light.
5. Slang. yellow jacket (def. 2).
–adjective
6. of the color yellow.
7. Often Offensive.
a. designating or pertaining to an Oriental person or Oriental peoples.
b. designating or pertaining to a person of mixed racial origin, esp. of black and white heritage, whose skin is yellowish or yellowish brown.
8. having a sallow or yellowish complexion.
9. Informal. cowardly.
10. (of journalism, a newspaper, etc.)
a. sensational, esp. morbidly or offensively so: That yellow rag carried all the gory details.
b. dishonest in editorial comment and the presentation of news, esp. in sacrificing truth for sensationalism: Objective reporting isn't always a match for yellow journalism.
11. jealous; envious.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
12. to make or become yellow: Yellow the sheets with dye. The white stationery had yellowed with age.
Origin:
bef. 900; 1895–1900 for def. 9; ME yelou (adj. and n.), OE geolo, geolu (adj.); c. D geel, G gelb, L helvus pale-yellow; akin to ON gulr

Related forms:
yel⋅low⋅ly, adverb
yel⋅low⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
9. craven, timorous, fearful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To yellowest
yel·low   (yěl'ō)   
n.  

    1. The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between orange and green, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 570 to 590 nanometers; any of a group of colors of a hue resembling that of ripe lemons and varying in lightness and saturation; one of the subtractive primaries; one of the psychological primary hues.

    2. A pigment or dye having this hue.

    3. Something that has this hue.

  2. Chiefly Southern U.S. The yolk of an egg.

  3. Western U.S. Gold. Used formerly by prospectors.

  4. yellows Any of various plant diseases usually caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium or viruses of the genus Chlorogenus and characterized by yellow or yellowish discoloration.

adj.   yel·low·er, yel·low·est

  1. Of the color yellow.

    1. Having a yellow-brown skin color.

    2. Offensive Of or being a person of Asian origin.

  3. Slang Cowardly.

tr. & intr.v.   yel·lowed, yel·low·ing, yel·lows
To make or become yellow: documents that had been yellowed by age; clouds that yellow in the evening light.

[Middle English yelow, from Old English geolu; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
yel'low·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
yellow

  1. mod.
    cowardly. A: Mooshoo says you're yellow. B: Wanna make something of it? :
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

yellow 
O.E. geolu, geolwe, from P.Gmc. *gelwaz (cf. O.S., O.H.G. gelo, M.Du. ghele, Du. geel, M.H.G. gel, Ger. gelb, O.N. gulr, Swed. gul "yellow"), from PIE *ghel-/*ghol- "yellow, green" (see Chloe). The verb meaning "to become yellow" is O.E. geoluwian. Adj. meaning "light-skinned" (of blacks) first recorded 1808. Applied to Asiatics since 1787, though the first recorded reference is to Turkish words for inhabitants of India. Yellow peril translates Ger. die gelbe gefahr. Sense of "cowardly" is 1856, of unknown origin; the color was traditionally associated rather with treachery. Yellow-bellied "cowardly" is from 1924, probably a rhyming reduplication of yellow; earlier yellow-belly was a sailor's name for a half-caste (1867) and a Texas term for Mexican soldiers (1842, based on the color of their uniforms). Yellow dog "mongrel" is attested from c.1770; slang sense of "contemptible person" first recorded 1881.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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