yellow admiral

noun

A post-captain promoted to the rank of rear admiral on the understanding that he will immediately retire without having actually served at that rank.

First used 18th c.
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Meanings

nounyellow admiral (plural yellow admirals)

plural yellow admirals

  1. historicalA post-captain promoted to the rank of rear admiral on the understanding that he will immediately retire without having actually served at that rank.First known use 18th c.

    Happiness, in her estimation, consists […] of being appealed to by the yellow admirals and gouty generals, as a person of great sagacity in cases, whether of medicine, or cards, or anecdote […].

    1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 328
  2. A large butterfly, Vanessa itea, native to Australia and New Zealand, with yellow markings on the forewings.First known use 19th c.
Cite this entry
APA

yellow admiral. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20admiral

MLA

“yellow admiral.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20admiral. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yellow admiral,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellow%20admiral.

Source: yellow admiral on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.