yellow-bellied

[ yel-oh-bel-eed ]

adjective

1. having a yellow abdomen or underside.
2. Slang. cowardly; lily-livered.

Word History and Origins

Origin of yellow-bellied¹

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

We then used this index to gain insights about the survival and longevity of yellow-bellied marmots.

From Salon

Harris is a red-blooded patriot, and Trump is a yellow-bellied traitor.

From Salon

Documented examples have included California condors, Komodo dragons and yellow-bellied water snakes.

From Seattle Times

According to Daniel Blumstein, a conservation biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies longevity in yellow-bellied marmots and was not involved in the new study, connecting social genes to longevity was intriguing.

From Scientific American

And I hid from it like a yellow-bellied coward, keeping my mind on figures when it wasn’t wandering back to the musical note Anemone Cordimas put at the end of my name.

From Literature

Related Words

• mean-spirited