Latin

Adjective

helvus m ‎(feminine helva, neuter helvum); first/second declension

1. honey-yellow
   • 1st century AD, Lucius Iunius Moderatus Columella, De Re Rustica, Book III Ch. 2

     Sunt et Helvolae, quas non nulli varias appellant, neque purpureae neque nigrae, ab helvo, nisi fallor, colore vocitatae.

     There are also the Helvolans, which some call variae. They are neither purple nor black; from their honey-yellow colour they get their name, if I'm not wrong.

Inflection

First/second declension.

Derived terms

• helvolus
• helvius
• helvella

Synonyms

• (yellow): flavus

References

• helvus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “helvus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 282