Meanings
plural yellownesses
- uncountableusuallyThe state, quality, or degree of being yellow in colour.
1924, Herbert Jenkins, The Bindles on the Rocks, London: Herbert Jenkins, Chapter VI, Part II, […] lemonade of a yellowness sufficient to convince the most inveterate pessimist of the presence of the lemon.
1 more example
[…] at least there would be no harm in getting a few bottles of “stuff” from him, since if these proved useless it would still be possible to return to the Purifying Pills, which kept you alive, if they did not remove the yellowness.
1872, George Eliot, Middlemarch, London: William Blackwood & Sons, Volume III, Book V, Chapter 45, p. 25 - uncountableusuallyCowardice.
- obsoleteuncountableusuallyJealousy.
My humour shall not cool: I will incense Page to deal with poison; I will possess him with yellowness, for the revolt of mine is dangerous: that is my true humour.
c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]1 more example
The vndiscreet carriage of some lasciuious gallant […] by his often frequenting of an house, and bold vnseemly gestures, may make a breach, and by his ouer familiarity, if he be inclined to yellownesse, colour him quite out.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 3, section 3, member 1, subsection 2, page 680
Synonyms & antonyms
nounyellow color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of sunflowers or ripe lemons
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishȝalownes
- Englishyellowness
From Middle English ȝalownes; equivalent to yellow + -ness.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic صُفْرَة
- صُفْرَة (ṣufra)state or quality of being yellow
Catalan grogor
- grogorstate or quality of being yellow
Danish gulhed
- gulhedstate or quality of being yellow
Finnish keltaisuus
- keltaisuusstate or quality of being yellow
German Gelbe
- Gelbestate or quality of being yellow
Italian giallore
- giallorestate or quality of being yellow
Latvian dzeltenums
- dzeltenumsstate or quality of being yellow
Russian желтизна́
- желтизна́ (želtizná)state or quality of being yellow
Slovak žlť
- žlťstate or quality of being yellow
Spanish amarillez
- amarillezstate or quality of being yellow
Swedish gulhet, gulnad
- gulhetstate or quality of being yellow
- gulnadstate or quality of being yellow
Turkish sarılık
- sarılıkstate or quality of being yellow
Cite this entry
yellowness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellowness
“yellowness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellowness. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yellowness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yellowness.
Source: yellowness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.