Yellow rail

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} (Zo["o]l.), 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 Cham[ae]pitys}).

{Yellow bunting} (Zo["o]l.), the European yellow-hammer.

{Yellow cat} (Zo["o]l.), 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 pr[ae]cox}), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), the kinkajou.

{Yellow macauco} (Zo["o]l.), the kinkajou.

{Yellow mackerel} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), the common American perch. See {Perch}.

{Yellow pike} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), a greenish or yellowish European stone fly of the genus {Chloroperla}; -- so called by anglers.

{Yellow sculpin} (Zo["o]l.), the dragonet.

{Yellow snake} (Zo["o]l.), 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) (Zo["o]l.) 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), the fer-de-lance.

{Yellow warbler} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of American warblers of the genus {Dendroica} in which the predominant color is yellow, especially {Dendroica [ae]stiva}, 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} (Zo["o]l.) (a) The European willow warbler. (b) The European wood warbler. [1913 Webster]