Yellow

#ffff00

Yellow is the color of light whose wavelength is between 565nm and 590nm, or is a mixture of red and green light that appears to be the same color.

Yellow is one of the subtractive primary colours (primary pigments), and its complementary color is blue. However, because of the characteristics of paint pigments used in the past, painters traditionally regard its complement as purple.

Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions

Yellow is a bright cheerful color, but in the English language, yellow is associated with jaundice and cowardice. In American slang a coward is said to have a yellow belly. It can also mean that something is tainted, as in the expression "yellow journalism".

Coldplay recorded a song called "Yellow", the Beatles a song called "Yellow Submarine", and Donovan a song "Mellow Yellow."

Yellow was the symbol for the Emperor of China and consequently of the Chinese monarchy. It was also the color of the New Party on Taiwan. In the United States in the 20th century, immigrants from China and other East Asian nations were derogatively referred to as a "Yellow peril."

Yellow, in international political organizations, is the color for liberalists (see Political party).

In some countries, taxicabs are commonly yellow. This practice apparently began in New York, where taxi owner Harry N. Allen painted his taxis yellow after learning that yellow is the color most easily seen at a distance.

In Canada and the United States School buses are almost uniformly painted a bright yellow color (often referred to as "school bus yellow") for purposes of visibility and safety. "Caterpillar yellow" and "high-visibility yellow" are used for highway construction equipment.

In auto racing, a yellow flag signals caution. Cars are not allowed to pass one another under a yellow flag.

The Yellow Pages is the section of a phone book or online phone directory that lists business numbers by category. They are named for the color paper they are printed on in phone books to distinguish them from the regular listings.

Yellowcake (also known as urania and uranic oxide) is concentrated uranium oxide, obtained through the milling of uranium ore. Yellowcake is used in the preparation of fuel for nuclear reactors and in uranium enrichment, one of the essential steps for creating nuclear weapons.

The Yellow Rose of Texas, or "Harison's Yellow," first bloomed in New York City in the 1830s.

Color Coordinates

Hex triplet = #FFFF00
RGB    (r, g, b)    =  (255, 255, 0)
CMYK   (c, m, y, k) =  (0, 0, 255, 0)
HSV    (h, s, v)    =  (60, 100, 100)

Yellow

Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions

Color Coordinates

See also