Gray
Origin 1
Alternative forms
- grey used in the UK and the Commonwealth and also in the US
From Old English grǣġ, from Proto-Germanic *grÄ“waz (compare Dutch grauw, German grau, Old Norse grár), from Pre-Germanic *ǵrÄ“wo, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer ("to shine, to glow") (compare Latin rÄvus ("grey"), Old Church Slavonic Ð·ÑŒÑ€Ñ (zÄrjÇ«, "to see, to glance"), Russian зреть ("to watch, to look at") (archaic), Lithuanian žeriù ("to shine")).
Full definition of gray
Adjective
gray
- Having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.
- Isaac NewtonThese grey and dun colors may be also produced by mixing whites and blacks.
- Dreary, gloomy.
- Daniel C. Gerouldthe era of gray, boring banality and stagnation
- Having an indistinct, disputed or uncertain quality.
- Relating to older people.the gray dollar, i.e. the purchasing power of the elderly
- Amesgrey experience
Usage notes
A mnemonic for remembering which spelling is used where: grey is the English spelling, while gray is the American spelling. However, grey is also found in American English.
Verb
spelled "grey" in the UK and the Commonwealth- To become gray.My hair is beginning to gray.
- To cause to become gray.
- (demography, slang) To turn progressively older, in the context of the population of a geographic region.the graying of America
Noun
gray
(plural grays)- An achromatic colour intermediate between black and white.
- (chiefly US, ufology) an extraterrestrial creature with grayish skin, bulbous black eyes, and an enlarged head.
- (two-up) A penny with a tail on both sides, used for cheating.Sidney J. Baker, The Australian Language, second edition, 1966, chapter XI section 3, page 243
Origin 2
Named after Louis Harold Gray.
Noun
gray
(plural grays)- In the International System of Units, the derived unit of absorbed dose of radiation (radiation absorbed by a patient); one joule of energy absorbed per kilogram of the patient's mass. Symbol: Gy