c.1300, jaunis, from Old French jaunice, earlier jalnice, "yellowness" (12c.), from jaune "yellow," from Latin galbinus "greenish yellow," probably from PIE *ghel- "yellow, green" (see Chloe).With intrusive -d- (compare gender, astound, thunder). Figurative meaning "feeling in which views are colored or distorted" first recorded 1620s, from yellow's association with bitterness and envy (see yellow). As a verb, from 1791, but usually in figurative use. Related: Jaundiced.