'lemon-yellow' is a compound of 'lemon' and 'yellow'. 'lemon' originates from Old French 'limon' (from Arabic 'laymūn' or Persian 'limū'), originally referring to the citrus fruit; 'yellow' originates from Old English 'geolu' meaning 'yellow'.

'lemon' changed from Old French 'limon' and Middle English 'lemoun' and eventually became modern English 'lemon'. 'yellow' changed from Old English 'geolu' through Middle English forms such as 'yelow' to the modern English 'yellow'.

Initially, 'lemon' referred to the fruit and 'yellow' to the color; the compound 'lemon-yellow' has long been used to denote a bright yellow reminiscent of a lemon and its meaning has remained largely stable.