grey

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

• enPR: grā, IPA^(key): /ɡɹeɪ/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophones: gray, greige

Adjective

grey (comparative greyer, superlative greyest) (often spelled "gray" in the US)

1. Having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.
   • Isaac Newton

     These grey and dun colors may be also produced by mixing whites and blacks.

2. Dreary, gloomy.
   • Daniel C. Gerould

     the era of gray, boring banality and stagnation

3. Having an indistinct, disputed or uncertain quality.
4. Relating to older people.

   the grey dollar, i.e. the purchasing power of the elderly

   • Ames

     grey experience

Verb

grey (third-person singular simple present greys, present participle greying, simple past and past participle greyed) (often spelled "gray" in the US)

1. To become grey.

   My hair is beginning to grey.

2. To cause to become grey.
   • 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.

3. (demography, slang) To turn progressively older, in the context of the population of a geographic region.

   the greying of Europe

Noun

grey (plural greys) (often spelled "gray" in the US)

1. An achromatic colour intermediate between black and white.

   grey colour:  

2. An animal or thing of grey colour, such as a horse, badger, or salmon.
   • Sir Walter Scott

     Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, / That costs thy life, my gallant grey.

3. (ufology) an extraterrestrial humanoid with greyish skin, bulbous black eyes, and an enlarged head.

See also

Anagrams

• -ergy, gyre

Etymology

From Old Norse grey, from Proto-Germanic *grawją.

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

Alternative forms

• grei, gray, grai, greye, gry, græi, gro, gra, greȝe, greiȝe

Etymology

Old English grǣġ, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrɛi̯/
• Rhymes: -ɛi̯

Adjective

grey (comparative redder, superlative reddest)

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

Noun

grey

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

See also

Noun

grey m (plural greys)

1. Alternative form of gray (race of extraterrestrials)

Etymology

From Latin grege, singular ablative of grex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡre̞j]

Noun

grey f (plural greyes)

1. (obsolete, poetic) flock, herd
2. (religion) flock (people served by a pastor, priest, etc., also all believers in a church or religion)