grey
pronunciation
How to pronounce grey in British English:
UK [ɡreɪ]
How to pronounce grey in American English:
US [ɡreɪ]
-
- Noun:
- any organization or party whose uniforms or badges are gray
- a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
- gray clothing
-
- Verb:
- make gray
- turn gray
-
- Adjective:
- an achromatic color of any lightness between the extremes of black and white
- showing characteristics of age, especially having gray or white hair
- used to signify the Confederate forces in the Civil War (who wore gray uniforms)
- intermediate in character or position
- darkened with overcast
Word Origin
- grey
- grey: [OE] Grey is an ancient colour term, traceable back all the way to a prehistoric Indo- European *ghrēghwos. From this was descended West and North Germanic *grǣwaz, which produced German grau, Dutch grauw, Swedish grå, and Danish graa as well as English grey. The distinction in spelling between British grey and American gray is a comparatively recent one. Dr Johnson in his Dictionary 1755 gave gray as the main form, and even into the early 20th century it was still quite common in Britain (The Times used it, for instance). Nor is grey by any means unknown in America.
- grey
- see gray.
Example
- 1. It makes snow and animals look grey and dirty .
- 2. Grey dots represent hidden updates that might not be as important .
- 3. From detroit 's grey streets to the lovely bays along the great lakes , it teems with plans for future prosperity .
- 4. It improves tolerance of human foibles and can brighten up some grey days .
- 5. And only now when his head was grey he had fallen properly , really in love -- for the first time in his life .