grey
See also: Grey
English
Alternative forms
- gray (often used in the US)
Etymology
From Middle English grey, from Old English grǣġ, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz (compare Dutch grauw, German grau, Old Norse grár), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁- (“to green, to grow”) (compare Latin rāvus (“grey”), Old Church Slavonic зьрѭ (zĭrjǫ, “to see, to glance”), Russian зреть (zretʹ, “to watch, to look at”) (archaic), Lithuanian žeriù (“to shine”)).
Pronunciation
Audio (CA) (file)
Adjective
grey (comparative greyer or more grey, superlative greyest or most grey)
- UK and Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
- 1704, I[saac] N[ewton], “(please specify |book=1 to 3)”, in Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. […], London: […] Sam[uel] Smith, and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], OCLC 1118497469:
- These grey and dun colors may be also produced by mixing whites and blacks.
-
- (South Africa, slang) Synonym of coloured (pertaining to the mixed race of black and white).[1]
Derived terms
Terms derived from grey
- battleship grey
- grey area
- greyback
- greybeard
- greyboard
- greybody
- greyen
- greyer
- greyest
- greyfriar
- grey ghost
- grey-haired
- greyhead
- greyhound
- greyish
- greyishly
- greylag
- greyline
- greylist
- greyly
- grey matter
- greyness
- grey nomad
- grey power
- greyscale
- greyschist
- greystone
- greyware
- greywater
- greywether
- gunmetal grey
- ungrey
Translations
gray — see gray
Verb
grey (third-person singular simple present greys, present participle greying, simple past and past participle greyed)
- UK and Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
- 1941, Emily Carr, Klee Wyck, Chapter 18,
- Now only a few hand-hewn cedar planks and roof beams remained, moss-grown and sagging—a few totem poles, greyed and split.
- 1941, Emily Carr, Klee Wyck, Chapter 18,
Noun
grey (plural greys)
- UK and Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
- 1810, Walter Scott, “(please specify the canto number or page)”, in The Lady of the Lake; a Poem, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for John Ballantyne and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and William Miller, OCLC 6632529, (please specify the stanza number):
- Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, / That costs thy life, my gallant grey.
- 1833, Sporting Magazine (volume 6, page 400)
- Pioneer seemed now to have the game in his own hands; but the Captain, by taking two desperate leaps, cut off a corner, by which he regained the ground he had lost by the fall, and was up with the grey the remainder of the chase.
-
Translations
gray — see gray
See also
- greys
| white | gray, grey | black |
| red; crimson | orange; brown | yellow; cream |
| lime, lime green | green | mint |
| cyan; teal | azure, sky blue | blue |
| violet; indigo | magenta; purple | pink |
References
- 2001, Charlotte Spinks, A New Apartheid? Urban Spatiality, (Fear of) Crime, and Segregation; in Cape Town, South Africa, Destin Development Studies Institute, ISSN 1470-2320
Anagrams
- -ergy, gyre
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse grey, from Proto-Germanic *grawją, cognate with Faroese groyggj.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kreiː/
- Rhymes: -eiː
Noun
grey n (genitive singular greys, nominative plural grey)
- (archaic) bitch (female dog)
- wretch, pitiful person
- Greyið mitt!
- You poor little thing!
- Greyið Jón
- Poor John
- indefinite accusative singular of grey
- indefinite nominative plural of grey
- indefinite accusative plural of grey
Declension
declension of grey
| n-s | singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | grey | greyið | grey | greyin |
| accusative | grey | greyið | grey | greyin |
| dative | greyi | greyinu | greyjum | greyjunum |
| genitive | greys | greysins | greyja | greyjanna |
Middle English
Alternative forms
- grei, gray, grai, greye, gry, græi, gro, gra, greȝe, greiȝe
Etymology
From Old English grǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *grāu, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡrɛi̯/
- Rhymes: -ɛi̯
Adjective
grey (plural and weak singular greye)
- grey, dull, drab (in color)
- glinting, glistening
Descendants
- English: gray, grey
- Scots: gray
- Yola: gry
References
- “grei, adj. & n..”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.
Noun
grey
- grey (colour)
- Fur of the grey squirrel
- grey clothes
- grey textiles
- An elderly man
- A badger
Descendants
- English: gray, grey
- Scots: gray
- Yola: gry
References
- “grei, adj. & n..”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.
- “grei, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.
- “grei, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-30.
See also
| whit | grey, hor | blak |
| red; cremesyn, gernet | citrine, aumbre; broun, tawne | yelow, dorry; canevas |
| grasgrene | grene | |
| plunket; ewage | asure, livid | blewe, blo, pers |
| violet; inde | rose, murrey; purpel, purpur | claret |
Portuguese
Noun
grey m (plural greys)
- Alternative form of gray (race of extraterrestrials)
Spanish
Etymology
From Old Spanish grey, from Latin grex, gregem, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“to assemble, gather together”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡɾei/ [ˈɡɾei̯]
- Rhymes: -ei
- Syllabification: grey
Noun
grey f (plural greyes)
- (obsolete, poetic) flock, herd
- Synonyms: rebaño, rehala
- (religion) flock (people served by a pastor, priest, etc., also all believers in a church or religion)
- Synonyms: rebaño, feligresía, congregación, iglesia
- 1877, Benito Pérez Galdós, Gloria:
- toda la grey díscola y ladina de aquellas verdes montañas
- the whole rebellious and cunning flock from those green mountains
Derived terms
- gregario
- agregar
Related terms
- oveja
- cabra
See also
- (animals): ganado, hato, parvada, manada, jauría, cardumen, enjambre
Further reading
- “grey”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
- Joan Coromines; José A. Pascual (1983–1991), “grey”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos, page 208