sallow

1 of 2

noun

sal·​low ˈsa-(ˌ)lō 

: any of several Old World broad-leaved willows (such as Salix caprea) including important sources of charcoal and tanbark

sallow

2 of 2

adjective

: of a grayish greenish yellow color

sallowish

ˈsa-lə-wish 

adjective

sallowness

ˈsa-lō-nəs 

-lə-

noun

Did you know?

In Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel A Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian’s unscrupulous friend Lord Henry Wotton impresses upon the young Dorian what the process of aging will do, saying "Time is jealous of you, and wars against your lilies and your roses. You will become sallow, and hollow-cheeked, and dull-eyed." Literature of the 19th century abounds with sallow people—Charles Dickens applied the word to characters in no fewer than 12 novels—but the word had been in use with the same meaning for centuries before that literary heyday. Its synonymous Old English forbear is salu, which shares an ancestor with an Old High German word meaning "murky" as well as with a Russian word meaning "yellowish gray."

Examples of sallow in a Sentence

Adjective

he was still a bit sallow after a week spent in bed with the flu

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

When Wednesday's finale began, Eddie (David Giuntoli) and Maggie (Allison Miller) find her husband Gary (James Roday Rodriguez) looking sallow, unable to talk and unwilling to eat in his hospice bed. —Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 4 May 2023

Chiffchaffs and willow warblers sing in the sallow and alder, while every leaf seems to hold a butterfly or dragonfly or hoverfly. —The Economist, 5 July 2018

Adjective

During a visit in August with two Times reporters, Mr. Perez’s skin was sallow. —Aimee Ortiz, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023

An awkward, sallow, provincial, minor army officer, Napoleon, was irresistibly drawn to Joséphine, attracted by her proximity to the most powerful men in France. —Anne Higonnet, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English sealh; akin to Old High German salha sallow, Latin salix willow

Adjective

Middle English salowe, from Old English salu; akin to Old High German salo murky, Russian solovyĭ yellowish gray

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

sallow

adjective

sal·​low

ˈsal-ō

: of an unhealthy yellowish color

sallow complexion