sallow
pronunciation
How to pronounce sallow in British English:
UK [ˈsæləʊ]
How to pronounce sallow in American English:
US [ˈsæloʊ]
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- Noun:
- any of several Old World shrubby broad-leaved willows having large catkins; some are important sources for tanbark and charcoal
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- Verb:
- cause to become sallow
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- Adjective:
- unhealthy looking
Word Origin
- sallow
- sallow: [OE] English has two distinct words sallow. The adjective goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *salwa-, which was also borrowed into French as sale ‘dirty’. The underlying meaning appears to be ‘dark-coloured’. Its only surviving relative among the mainstream Germanic languages is Icelandic sölr ‘yellow’. Sallow ‘willow’ comes from a prehistoric Germanic *salkhaz, which also produced French saule ‘willow’ and was distantly related to Latin salix ‘willow’.
- sallow (n.)
- "shrubby willow plant," Old English sealh (Anglian salh), from Proto-Germanic *salhjon (cognates: Old Norse selja, Old High German salaha, and first element in German compound Salweide), from PIE *sal(i)k- "willow" (cognates: Latin salix "willow," Middle Irish sail, Welsh helygen, Breton halegen "willow"). French saule "willow" is from Frankish salha, from the Germanic root. Used in Palm Sunday processions and decorations in England before the importing of real palm leaves began.
- sallow (adj.)
- Old English salo "dusky, dark" (related to sol "dark, dirty"), from Proto-Germanic *salwa- (cognates: Middle Dutch salu "discolored, dirty," Old High German salo "dirty gray," Old Norse sölr "dirty yellow"), from PIE root *sal- (2) "dirty, gray" (cognates: Old Church Slavonic slavojocije "grayish-blue color," Russian solovoj "cream-colored"). Related: Sallowness.
Example
- 1. The girl 's face looks wan and sallow .
- 2. Muddi sallow , feel also the dry !
- 3. My skin looked sallow and pale .
- 4. When I 'm weary , I stare at your sallow and pale expression .
- 5. You are seeing rather sallow , are you ill ?