yellow

[yel-oh] /ˈyɛl oʊ/
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, yellower, yellowest.
6.
of the color yellow.
7.
Offensive.
  1. designating or pertaining to an Asian person or Asian peoples.
  2. designating or pertaining to a person of mixed racial origin, especially of black and white heritage, whose skin is yellowish or yellowish brown.
8.
having a sallow or yellowish complexion.
9.
Informal. cowardly.
10.
  1. (of a newspaper, book, etc.) featuring articles, pictures, or other content that is sensational, especially morbidly or offensively so: yellow rags;
    yellow biographies.
  2. dishonest in editorial comment and the presentation of news, especially in sacrificing truth for sensationalism, as in yellow journalism; yellow press.
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
before 900; 1895-1900 for def 9; Middle English yelou (adj. and noun), Old English geolo, geolu (adj.); cognate with Dutch geel, German gelb, Latin helvus pale-yellow; akin to Old Norse gulr
Related forms
yellowly, adverb
yellowness, noun
Synonyms
9. craven, timorous, fearful.
Usage note
It is perceived as insulting to use yellow to describe a person of Asian or mixed racial origin, as in the terms yellow peril and high yellow.
British Dictionary definitions for yellow journalism

yellow journalism

noun
1.
the type of journalism that relies on sensationalism and lurid exaggeration to attract readers
Word Origin
C19: perhaps shortened from the phrase Yellow Kid journalism, referring to the Yellow Kid, a cartoon (1895) in the New York World, a newspaper having a reputation for sensationalism

yellow

/ˈjɛləʊ/
noun
1.
any of a group of colours that vary in saturation but have the same hue. They lie in the approximate wavelength range 585–575 nanometres. Yellow is the complementary colour of blue and with cyan and magenta forms a set of primary colours related adjective xanthous
2.
a pigment or dye of or producing these colours
3.
yellow cloth or clothing: dressed in yellow
4.
the yolk of an egg
5.
a yellow ball in snooker, etc
6.
any of a group of pieridine butterflies the males of which have yellow or yellowish wings, esp the clouded yellows (Colias spp.) and the brimstone
adjective
7.
of the colour yellow
8.
yellowish in colour or having parts or marks that are yellowish: yellow jasmine
9.
having a yellowish skin; Mongoloid
10.
(informal) cowardly or afraid
11.
offensively sensational, as a cheap newspaper (esp in the phrase yellow press)
verb
12.
to make or become yellow
See also yellows
Derived Forms
yellowish, adjective
yellowly, adverb
yellowness, noun
yellowy, adjective
Word Origin
Old English geolu; related to Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Old Norse gulr, Latin helvus
Word Origin and History for yellow journalism

"sensational chauvinism in the media," 1898, American English, from newspaper agitation for war with Spain; originally "publicity stunt use of colored ink" (1895) in reference to the popular Yellow Kid" character (his clothes were yellow) in Richard Outcault's comic strip "Shantytown" in the "New York World."

yellow

adj.

Old English geolu, geolwe, from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Middle Dutch ghele, Dutch geel, Middle High German gel, German gelb, Old Norse gulr, Swedish gul "yellow"), from PIE *ghel- "yellow, green" (see Chloe).

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 German 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. Yellow fever attested from 1748, American English (jaundice is a symptom).

v.

"to become yellow," Old English geoluwian, from the source of yellow (adj.). Related: Yellowed; yellowing.

yellow journalism in Culture

yellow journalism definition


Inflammatory, irresponsible reporting by newspapers. The phrase arose during the 1890s, when some American newspapers, particularly those run by William Randolph Hearst, worked to incite hatred of Spain, thereby contributing to the start of the Spanish-American War. Newspapers that practice yellow journalism are called yellow press.

Slang definitions & phrases for yellow journalism

yellow

adjective
  1. Cowardly; faint-hearted; chicken: Don't get into this race if you're yellow (1856+)
  2. Having light skin for a black person: You know that baker we hired. The yellow boy (1808+)
noun

Cowardice; poltroonery; excessive timidity: Most often in the expression ''yellow streak'' or ''streak of yellow'': I'm afraid he has a streak of yellow in him (1896+)

Related Terms

high yellow

[the origin of the coward sense is unknown; perhaps it is derived fr the traditional symbolic meanings of yellow, among which were ''deceitfulness, treachery, degradation, the light of hell'']