The word yellow comes from the Old English geolu, geolwe (oblique case), meaning yellow, yellowish, derived from the Proto-Germanic word gelwaz yellow.It has the same Indo-European base, gʰel- , as the word yell; gʰel-means both bright and gleaming, and to cry out. Naples Yellow (lead antimonate yellow) is one of the oldest synthetic pigments, derived from the mineral bindheimite and used extensively up to the 20th century. 2  It is toxic and nowadays is replaced in paint by a mixture of modern pigments.