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”)).

Adjective

grey (comparative greyer or more grey, superlative greyest or most grey)

1. UK and Commonwealth of Nations 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.

2. (South Africa, slang) Synonym of coloured (pertaining to the mixed race of black and white).

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)

1. UK and Commonwealth of Nations standard spelling of gray.
   • 1941, Emily Carr, Klee Wyck, Chapter 18, ^[1]

     Now only a few hand-hewn cedar planks and roof beams remained, moss-grown and sagging—a few totem poles, greyed and split.

Noun

grey (plural greys)

1. UK and Commonwealth of Nations standard spelling of gray.
   • 1810, Walter Scott, 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 canto number)(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

Colors in English · colors, colours (layout · text)

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

Anagrams

• -ergy, gyre

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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)

1. (archaic) bitch (female dog)
2. wretch, pitiful person

   Greyið mitt!

   You poor little thing!

   Greyið Jón

   Poor John

3. indefinite accusative singular of grey
4. indefinite nominative plural of grey
5. 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

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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)

1. grey, dull, drab (in color)
2. 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

1. grey (colour)
2. Fur of the grey squirrel
3. grey clothes
4. grey textiles
5. An elderly man
6. 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

Colors in Middle English · coloures, hewes (layout · text)

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

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Portuguese

Noun

grey m (plural greys)

1. Alternative form of gray (race of extraterrestrials)

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Spanish

Etymology

From Old Spanish grey, from Latin grex, gregem, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“to assemble, gather together”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɾei/, [ˈɡɾei̯]

Noun

grey f (plural greyes)

1. (obsolete, poetic) flock, herd

   Synonyms: rebaño, rehala

2. (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
• Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1983–1991), “grey”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 208