Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Yellow \Yel"low\, a. [Compar. {Yellower}; 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. ? young verdure, ?
   greenish yellow, Skr. hari tawny, yellowish. ???. Cf.
   {Chlorine}, {Gall} a bitter liquid, {Gold}, {Yolk}.]
   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.

         Her yellow hair was browded [braided] in a tress.
                                                  --Chaucer.

         A sweaty reaper from his tillage brought First fruits,
         the green ear and the yellow sheaf.      --Milton.

         The line of yellow light dies fast away. --Keble.

   {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 {P.
      palustris} of the Eastern and Southern States, and {P.
      ponderosa} and {P. 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 {D. [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.

Golden \Gold"en\, a. [OE. golden; cf. OE. gulden, AS. gylden,
   from gold. See {Gold}, and cf. {Guilder}.]
   1. Made of gold; consisting of gold.

   2. Having the color of gold; as, the golden grain.

   3. Very precious; highly valuable; excellent; eminently
      auspicious; as, golden opinions.

   {Golden age}.
      (a) The fabulous age of primeval simplicity and purity of
          manners in rural employments, followed by the silver,
          bronze, and iron ages. --Dryden.
      (b) (Roman Literature) The best part (B. C. 81 -- A. D.
          14) of the classical period of Latinity; the time when
          Cicero, C[ae]sar, Virgil, etc., wrote. Hence:
      (c) That period in the history of a literature, etc., when
          it flourishes in its greatest purity or attains its
          greatest glory; as, the Elizabethan age has been
          considered the golden age of English literature.

   {Golden balls}, three gilt balls used as a sign of a
      pawnbroker's office or shop; -- originally taken from the
      coat of arms of Lombardy, the first money lenders in
      London having been Lombards.

   {Golden bull}. See under {Bull}, an edict.

   {Golden chain} (Bot.), the shrub {Cytisus Laburnum}, so named
      from its long clusters of yellow blossoms.

   {Golden club} (Bot.), an aquatic plant ({Orontium
      aquaticum}), bearing a thick spike of minute yellow
      flowers.

   {Golden cup} (Bot.), the buttercup.

   {Golden eagle} (Zo["o]l.), a large and powerful eagle
      ({Aquila Chrysa["e]tos}) inhabiting Europe, Asia, and
      North America. It is so called from the brownish yellow
      tips of the feathers on the head and neck. A dark variety
      is called the {royal eagle}; the young in the second year
      is the {ring-tailed eagle}.

   {Golden fleece}.
      (a) (Mythol.) The fleece of gold fabled to have been taken
          from the ram that bore Phryxus through the air to
          Colchis, and in quest of which Jason undertook the
          Argonautic expedition.
      (b) (Her.) An order of knighthood instituted in 1429 by
          Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy; -- called also
          {Toison d'Or}.

   {Golden grease}, a bribe; a fee. [Slang]

   {Golden hair} (Bot.), a South African shrubby composite plant
      with golden yellow flowers, the {Chrysocoma Coma-aurea}.
      

   {Golden Horde} (Hist.), a tribe of Mongolian Tartars who
      overran and settled in Southern Russia early in the 18th
      century.

   {Golden Legend}, a hagiology (the ``Aurea Legenda'') written
      by James de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, in the 13th
      century, translated and printed by Caxton in 1483, and
      partially paraphrased by Longfellow in a poem thus
      entitled.

   {Golden marcasite} tin. [Obs.]

   {Golden mean}, the way of wisdom and safety between extremes;
      sufficiency without excess; moderation.

            Angels guard him in the golden mean.  --Pope.

   {Golden mole} (Zo["o]l), one of several South African
      Insectivora of the family {Chrysochlorid[ae]}, resembling
      moles in form and habits. The fur is tinted with green,
      purple, and gold.

   {Golden number} (Chronol.), a number showing the year of the
      lunar or Metonic cycle. It is reckoned from 1 to 19, and
      is so called from having formerly been written in the
      calendar in gold.

   {Golden oriole}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Oriole}.

   {Golden pheasant}. See under {Pheasant}.

   {Golden pippin}, a kind of apple, of a bright yellow color.
      

   {Golden plover} (Zo["o]l.), one of several species of
      plovers, of the genus {Charadrius}, esp. the European ({C.
      apricarius, or pluvialis}; -- called also {yellow,
      black-breasted, hill, & whistling, plover}. The common
      American species ({C. dominicus}) is also called
      {frostbird}, and {bullhead}.

   {Golden robin}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Baltimore oriole}, in Vocab.
      

   {Golden rose} (R. C. Ch.), a gold or gilded rose blessed by
      the pope on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and sent to some
      church or person in recognition of special services
      rendered to the Holy See.

   {Golden rule}.
      (a) The rule of doing as we would have others do to us.
          Cf. --Luke vi. 31.
      (b) The rule of proportion, or rule of three.

   {Golden samphire} (Bot.), a composite plant ({Inula
      crithmoides}), found on the seashore of Europe.

   {Golden saxifrage} (Bot.), a low herb with yellow flowers
      ({Chrysosplenium oppositifolium}), blossoming in wet
      places in early spring.

   {Golden seal} (Bot.), a perennial ranunculaceous herb
      ({Hydrastis Canadensis}), with a thick knotted rootstock
      and large rounded leaves.

   {Golden sulphide, or sulphuret}, {of antimony} (Chem.), the
      pentasulphide of antimony, a golden or orange yellow
      powder.

   {Golden warbler} (Zo["o]l.), a common American wood warbler
      ({Dendroica [ae]stiva}); -- called also {blue-eyed yellow
      warbler}, {garden warbler}, and {summer yellow bird}.

   {Golden wasp} (Zo["o]l.), a bright-colored hymenopterous
      insect, of the family {Chrysidid[ae]}. The colors are
      golden, blue, and green.

   {Golden wedding}. See under {Wedding}.