Summer \Sum"mer\, n. [OE. sumer, somer, AS. sumor, sumer; akin
to OFries. sumur, D. zomer, OS. sumar, G. sommer, OHG. &
Icel. sumar, Dan. sommer, Sw. sommar, W. haf, Zend hama, Skr.
sam[=a] year. [root]292.]
The season of the year in which the sun shines most directly
upon any region; the warmest period of the year.
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Note: North of the equator summer is popularly taken to
include the months of June, July, and August.
Astronomically it may be considered, in the northern
hemisphere, to begin with the summer solstice, about
June 21st, and to end with the autumnal equinox, about
September 22d.
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Indian summer, in North America, a period of warm weather
late in autumn, usually characterized by a clear sky, and
by a hazy or smoky appearance of the atmosphere,
especially near the horizon. The name is derived probably
from the custom of the Indians of using this time in
preparation for winter by laying in stores of food.
Saint Martin's summer. See under Saint.
Summer bird (Zool.), the wryneck. [Prov. Eng.]
Summer colt, the undulating state of the air near the
surface of the ground when heated. [Eng.]
Summer complaint (Med.), a popular term for any diarrheal
disorder occurring in summer, especially when produced by
heat and indigestion.
Summer coot (Zool.), the American gallinule. [Local, U.S.]
Summer cypress (Bot.), an annual plant (Kochia Scoparia)
of the Goosefoot family. It has narrow, ciliate, crowded
leaves, and is sometimes seen in gardens.
Summer duck. (Zool.)
(a) The wood duck.
(b) The garganey, or summer teal. See Illust. of Wood duck,
under Wood.
Summer fallow, land uncropped and plowed, etc., during the
summer, in order to pulverize the soil and kill the weeds.
Summer rash (Med.), prickly heat. See under Prickly.
Summer sheldrake (Zool.), the hooded merganser. [Local,
U.S.]
Summer snipe. (Zool.)
(a) The dunlin.
(b) The common European sandpiper.
(c) The green sandpiper.
Summer tanager (Zool.), a singing bird (Piranga rubra)
native of the Middle and Southern United States. The male
is deep red, the female is yellowish olive above and
yellow beneath. Called also summer redbird.
Summer teal (Zool.), the blue-winged teal. [Local, U.S.]
Summer wheat, wheat that is sown in the spring, and matures
during the summer following. See Spring wheat.
Summer yellowbird. (Zool.) See Yellowbird.
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Yellow \Yel"low\ (y[e^]l"l[-o]), a. [Compar. Yellower
(y[e^]l"l[-o]*[~e]r); superl. Yellowest.] [OE. yelow,
yelwe, [yogh]elow, [yogh]eoluw, from AS. geolu; akin to D.
geel, OS. & OHG. gelo, G. gelb, Icel. gulr, Sw. gul, Dan.
guul, L. helvus light bay, Gr. chlo`n young verdure, chlwro`s
greenish yellow, Skr. hari tawny, yellowish. [root]49. Cf.
Chlorine, Gall a bitter liquid, Gold, Yolk.]
1. Being of a bright saffronlike color; of the color of gold
or brass; having the hue of that part of the rainbow, or
of the solar spectrum, which is between the orange and the
green.
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Her yellow hair was browded [braided] in a tress.
--Chaucer.
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A sweaty reaper from his tillage brought
First fruits, the green ear and the yellow sheaf.
--Milton.
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The line of yellow light dies fast away. --Keble.
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2. Cowardly; hence, dishonorable; mean; contemptible; as, he
has a yellow streak. [Slang]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
3. Sensational; -- said of some newspapers, their makers,
etc.; as, yellow journal, journalism, etc. [Colloq.]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Yellow atrophy (Med.), a fatal affection of the liver, in
which it undergoes fatty degeneration, and becomes rapidly
smaller and of a deep yellow tinge. The marked symptoms
are black vomit, delirium, convulsions, coma, and
jaundice.
Yellow bark, calisaya bark.
Yellow bass (Zool.), a North American fresh-water bass
(Morone interrupta) native of the lower parts of the
Mississippi and its tributaries. It is yellow, with
several more or less broken black stripes or bars. Called
also barfish.
Yellow berry. (Bot.) Same as Persian berry, under
Persian.
Yellow boy, a gold coin, as a guinea. [Slang] --Arbuthnot.
Yellow brier. (Bot.) See under Brier.
Yellow bugle (Bot.), a European labiate plant (Ajuga
Chamaepitys).
Yellow bunting (Zool.), the European yellow-hammer.
Yellow cat (Zool.), a yellow catfish; especially, the
bashaw.
Yellow copperas (Min.), a hydrous sulphate of iron; --
called also copiapite.
Yellow copper ore, a sulphide of copper and iron; copper
pyrites. See Chalcopyrite.
Yellow cress (Bot.), a yellow-flowered, cruciferous plant
(Barbarea praecox), sometimes grown as a salad plant.
Yellow dock. (Bot.) See the Note under Dock.
Yellow earth, a yellowish clay, colored by iron, sometimes
used as a yellow pigment.
Yellow fever (Med.), a malignant, contagious, febrile
disease of warm climates, attended with jaundice,
producing a yellow color of the skin, and with the black
vomit. See Black vomit, in the Vocabulary.
Yellow flag, the quarantine flag. See under Quarantine,
and 3d Flag.
Yellow jack.
(a) The yellow fever. See under 2d Jack.
(b) The quarantine flag. See under Quarantine.
Yellow jacket (Zool.), any one of several species of
American social wasps of the genus Vespa, in which the
color of the body is partly bright yellow. These wasps are
noted for their irritability, and for their painful
stings.
Yellow lead ore (Min.), wulfenite.
Yellow lemur (Zool.), the kinkajou.
Yellow macauco (Zool.), the kinkajou.
Yellow mackerel (Zool.), the jurel.
Yellow metal. Same as Muntz metal, under Metal.
Yellow ocher (Min.), an impure, earthy variety of brown
iron ore, which is used as a pigment.
Yellow oxeye (Bot.), a yellow-flowered plant
(Chrysanthemum segetum) closely related to the oxeye
daisy.
Yellow perch (Zool.), the common American perch. See
Perch.
Yellow pike (Zool.), the wall-eye.
Yellow pine (Bot.), any of several kinds of pine; also,
their yellowish and generally durable timber. Among the
most common are valuable species are Pinus mitis and
Pinus palustris of the Eastern and Southern States, and
Pinus ponderosa and Pinus Arizonica of the Rocky
Mountains and Pacific States.
Yellow plover (Zool.), the golden plover.
Yellow precipitate (Med. Chem.), an oxide of mercury which
is thrown down as an amorphous yellow powder on adding
corrosive sublimate to limewater.
Yellow puccoon. (Bot.) Same as Orangeroot.
Yellow rail (Zool.), a small American rail (Porzana
Noveboracensis) in which the lower parts are dull yellow,
darkest on the breast. The back is streaked with brownish
yellow and with black, and spotted with white. Called also
yellow crake.
Yellow rattle, Yellow rocket. (Bot.) See under Rattle,
and Rocket.
Yellow Sally (Zool.), a greenish or yellowish European
stone fly of the genus Chloroperla; -- so called by
anglers.
Yellow sculpin (Zool.), the dragonet.
Yellow snake (Zool.), a West Indian boa (Chilobothrus
inornatus) common in Jamaica. It becomes from eight to
ten long. The body is yellowish or yellowish green, mixed
with black, and anteriorly with black lines.
Yellow spot.
(a) (Anat.) A small yellowish spot with a central pit, the
fovea centralis, in the center of the retina where
vision is most accurate. See Eye.
(b) (Zool.) A small American butterfly (Polites Peckius)
of the Skipper family. Its wings are brownish, with a
large, irregular, bright yellow spot on each of the
hind wings, most conspicuous beneath. Called also
Peck's skipper. See Illust. under Skipper, n., 5.
Yellow tit (Zool.), any one of several species of crested
titmice of the genus Machlolophus, native of India. The
predominating colors of the plumage are yellow and green.
Yellow viper (Zool.), the fer-de-lance.
Yellow warbler (Zool.), any one of several species of
American warblers of the genus Dendroica in which the
predominant color is yellow, especially Dendroica
aestiva, which is a very abundant and familiar species;
-- called also garden warbler, golden warbler, summer
yellowbird, summer warbler, and yellow-poll warbler.
Yellow wash (Pharm.), yellow oxide of mercury suspended in
water, -- a mixture prepared by adding corrosive sublimate
to limewater.
Yellow wren (Zool.)
(a) The European willow warbler.
(b) The European wood warbler.
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