giallo

gial·lo
G2I1A1L1L1O1
UK/ˈdʒaləʊ/US/ˈdʒæloʊ/

noun

A genre of Italian cinema mixing mystery and thriller with psychological elements.

OriginItalian giallo ← Old French jalne ← Latin galbinus →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

noungiallo (countable and uncountable, plural giallos or (rare) gialli)

plural giallos · plural rare gialli

  1. uncountableA genre of Italian cinema mixing mystery and thriller with psychological elements.
  2. countableA film in this genre.

Origin

  1. Latingalbinus
  2. Old Frenchjalne
  3. Italiangiallo
  4. Englishgiallo

Borrowed from Italian giallo (literally “yellow”), in reference to the yellow covers of a series of mystery novels published by Mondadori from 1929.

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with giallo

shallowaloemarshmallowfallowmallowtallowcallowhallowsallowgallowallo-ballow
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Gallio
Cite this entry
APA

giallo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/giallo

MLA

“giallo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/giallo. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “giallo,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/giallo.

Source: giallo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.