What does yellow mean?
Yellow is a familiar color name for the warm hue associated with sunlight, ripe fruit, butter, and many flowers. As an adjective, it directly describes objects or surfaces of that color and can also carry a figurative meaning of cowardice or timidity. As a noun, yellow usually names the color as an uncountable category, though a countable use can refer to a person, garment, or object that is yellow. The verb “to yellow” means to become or turn yellow, often through aging, ripening, or exposure to light. Yellow’s associations are mostly positive and cheerful, especially when describing fruit, flowers, or sunlight, although its figurative use as an insult is distinctly negative. The word is especially useful because it combines a precise color designation with a long-established moral metaphor, allowing it to describe both visible appearance and character.
Of or relating to the color yellow; having a warm color between green and orange. Figuratively, it can mean cowardly.
"She wore a yellow coat to the autumn fair."
The sense meaning cowardly is informal and usually disparaging.
The color yellow, especially as a category of color; a person or object that is yellow.
"The yellow of the old curtains brightened the room."
The color is normally uncountable; countable uses are less common and may sound old-fashioned.
To turn or become yellow, especially through age, ripening, or weathering.
"The leaves yellowed in the autumn sunlight."
This use is most common in literary, descriptive, or technical contexts.
Used for multiple yellow objects, garments, or shades; the color as a category is normally uncountable.
"The team wore their yellows on Saturday."
The name yellow goes back to a root associated with shining, so the color's name carries an older idea of brightness.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of yellow
The English word descends from Old English ġeolu, an inherited Germanic adjective meaning yellow. It is related to Old Norse gjallr and Old High German gelu, and ultimately to an Indo-European root associated with shining or yellowness. The same broad root also underlies words such as gold, yolk, and gild.
Related word forms
How yellow is actually used
The cowardly sense is informal and mildly disparaging. As a noun, the color itself is usually uncountable, while countable uses such as 'a yellow' can refer to a yellow object or garment and may sound old-fashioned in some contexts. The verb is literary or descriptive and commonly describes leaves, paper, or other materials changing color.