37 Meanings of the Color Yellow

John Spacey, July 30, 2021

Yellow is an unusual color in nature except that sunlight, fire and interior lighting is often perceived as yellowish. As such, yellow is considered a harsh and warm color that is difficult to look at for long. The following are common meanings of yellow color followed by a more detailed description of each.

Bees	Brash
Buddhist Monks	Butter
Caution	Celebration
Citrus	Coward
Eggs	Emotion
Fire	Freshness
Garish	Gold
Happiness	Helios & Apollo
Hope	Issues (Reporting & Communication)
Knowledge	Lemons
Light	Luxury
Notes	Optimism
Penalties	Ripeness
Royalty	Safety
School Buses	Slow Down
Sports	Spring
Sunlight	Support
Taxis	Traffic Lights
Warm (Color Temperature)

Some light bulbs, particularly incandescent, produce yellow tinged light.

Sunlight is white but the sun often looks yellowish due to effects from the Earth's atmosphere.

As the perceived color of sunlight, yellow is associated with concepts that are commonly considered analogous to light such as optimism, hope, happiness and knowledge.

Yellow is particularly associated with happiness and more generally with emotion due to its use in the iconography known as smiley faces.

Bright florescent yellow is often used as a safety color for applications such as construction, school buses and emergency vehicles.

Gold is a reflective yellow color. Gold colors are often used in luxury and premium goods. This risks being perceived as garish.

The Greek sun gods Helios & Apollo are traditionally depicted with golden hair and are associated with the color yellow.

In traffic signals and signs yellow is often used as a caution or instruction to slow down.

Due to its visibility, yellow is often used in sporting goods and sportswear such as running shoes. This has given the color a sporty feel.

Yellow cards are used in soccer to signify a penalty.

Yellow is considered one of the colors of Spring due to yellow flowers such as sunflowers.

As a fashion color, yellow is considered brash and celebratory. It is usually reserved for special occasions.

The color yellow is strongly associated with the Emperors of China. For example, the legendary first emperor of China is known as the Yellow Emperor.

Some fruits such as bananas turn yellow as they ripen.

A orangish yellow known as saffron is commonly worn by Buddhist Monks.

In the United States, taxi cabs are traditionally yellow.

In the reporting and communication convention known as rag status, yellow is used to highlight an issue, risk or caution.

The term yellow-belly is old American slang for a coward. This originated in England as a derogatory term for people from Lincolnshire Fens. It is still common to use the word yellow as slang for cowardly.

The color yellow is commonly used for note paper and highlighters.

People tend to perceive yellow as being warm to the touch. This is due to its association with warm or hot elements of nature such as sunlight and fire.

Yellow is associated with citrus fruits such as lemon. This association is extended to related concepts such as freshness and ripeness.

In WWI, yellow ribbons were commonly worn by mothers and wives of soldiers who were fighting to symbolize support and hope. The yellow ribbon has since been adopted by countless causes. As such the color yellow, particularly as a ribbon, symbolizes support.

Several myths surround the color yellow. For example, the statement that it is the brightest, most luminous or most visible color isn't necessarily true. Generally speaking, white has the highest contrast with dark colors. As such, yellow has no special place as the brightest color but is similar to other bright colors from a single wavelength of light such as bright red. White is not typically used as a safety color because it is perceived as a neutral background color that is calming such that it fails to attract attention.