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.

Source : WordNet®

yellow jacket
     n 1: a barbiturate (trade name Nembutal) used as a sedative and
          hypnotic and anti-spasmodic [syn: {pentobarbital sodium},
           {pentobarbital}, {Nembutal}]
     2: small yellow-marked social wasp commonly nesting in the
        ground [syn: {yellow hornet}, {Vespula maculifrons}]