# yellowhammer

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈjɛl.əʊˌhæm.ə(ɹ)/

## Definitions
1. A passerine bird, Emberiza citrinella, of western Eurasia, which is mainly yellow in colour.
2. The northern flicker, Colaptes auratus, a woodpecker with yellow underwings and undertail and often other yellowish underparts; one of its ways of feeding is to hammer on trees to find insects (adults and larvae) to eat.
3. A native or resident of the American state of Alabama.

## Etymology
An alteration (influenced by hammer) of the earlier yelambre, yelamber, from Middle English *yelwambre, from yelwe (“yellow”) + *ambre (“yellowhammer”), from Old English amore, related to Old High German amaro (“yellowhammer”) (see modern German Ammer).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/yellowhammer