Welcome to this the sixth entry in Cool Colours. Yellow is wonderful and represents rather a unique case in this series' exploration. To look at the word at first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking that our word yellow has no links to Latin whatsoever. You would be both right and wrong, however. There is a link and a rather neat and unusual one. The word yellow is more closely connected to German 'gelb'. But it doesn't look like that either, you say. So, here is a brief glimpse at this lovely colour name's history. It stems primarily from the early German word 'gelwaz', to which the Italian 'giallo' is also related. Both stem ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European (henceforth PIE) word 'ghel-' which meant 'to shine'. Now PIE, is now widely believed to have been an early, now extinct language, from which most European languages and Sanskrit were all born. Now, here comes the Latin link. Latin is also descended from PIE and its word for pale yellow, helvus, comes from the same parent stem as German 'gelb'. So, it is linked to the word, it is just a relative that evolved slightly differently. Also, if you read the Latin helvus, pronouncing the 'v' as a 'w' (as many argue it should be) the connection with our 'yellow' becomes clearer.
Our trip through the colour yellow does not stop there. I have three further Classical terms for yellow for you that bequeathed us words in English. Let us start with Latin.
Have you ever read that you should get more of the vitamin Riboflavin (B2) in your diet? Well, the 'flavin' part of the word comes from the Latin flavus, meaning 'yellow', often a golden or reddish shade of yellow. 'What's a vitamin got to do with 'yellow'?' ,you ask. Well, the flavins are a group of organic compounds, from which Riboflavin is derived, and their colour is, you've got it, YELLOW. They are very important to life. So green might be life, but it appears yellow is, too.
Could your hair be described as 'fulvous'? No, it does not mean it is voluminous (full-vous, get it? Never mind). Again, this rather old-fashioned and probably forgotten word comes from another Latin word for 'yellow', this time fulvus, which denotes a brownish, tawny yellow. It was often used to describe lions.
Lastly, can I ask you if your daffodils betray a xanthic hue? So, we head over to the ancient Greeks for our penultimate yellow word of today. The Greek word ξανθος (xanthos) could denote hair that was blonde or even auburn, so again it can denote a reddish gold.
Crocus is our final shade today. Now, we see crocuses that are pink, blue, and yellow, but Greek word (κροκος) originally referred to the saffron plant, which yields a famous rich yellow colouring. There is even rather a sweet instance of it being used in a Greek text to describe the colour of egg-yolks.
The bright, cheerful colour yellow therefore, not only has a great etymological (i.e. word family) history, but it also has many different variations in Classical terms. EGG-sellent! Okay, there's a reason I'm a classicist not a comedian. I hope you enjoyed this instalment. See you on the next one.
