English Explanatory Dictionary

grey

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
  2. Synonym of coloured (pertaining to the mixed race of black and white).
verb
  1. Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
noun
  1. Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
name
  1. A surname transferred from the nickname, alternative spelling of Gray.
  2. A placename:
  3. A rural municipality (the Rural Municipality of Grey) in south-central Manitoba, Canada, named after Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey.
  4. A river in the West Coast Region, South Island, New Zealand; in full, Grey River.
  5. A territorial authority, Grey District, on the West Coast, New Zealand, the successor of Grey County.
  6. Ellipsis of Grey County.
  7. Ellipsis of Grey College, Durham.
  8. An English earldom.
noun
  1. A member of the Royal Scots Greys, a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 to 1971.

Pronunciation

grā /ɡɹeɪ/ En-uk-grey.ogg en-us-gray.ogg En-us-grey.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-PerfectSoundWhatever-grey.wav

Word forms

grey greyer more grey greyest most grey greys greying greyed

Etymology

From Middle English grey, from Old English grēġ (Anglian). The spelling grey reflects the Anglian vowel development, whereas the variant gray stems from the West Saxon form grǣġ (through Middle English gray). Further derived 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”)).

Synonyms

coloured

Related words

greys

Derived words

all cats are grey at night all cats are grey by night all cats are grey in the dark ash-grey ash grey battleship grey battleship-grey blue-grey brain grey cadet grey cool grey dove grey eastern grey kangaroo flathead grey mullet French grey get grey hair from give grey hair to give someone grey hair great grey owl great grey shrike green-grey grey alder grey alien grey amber grey ammonia grey area grey baby syndrome greyback grey-backed fiscal greybeard grey belt grey-blue greyboard greybody grey box grey-box testing grey-capped greenfinch grey cells grey-chested babbler grey club-rush grey-collar grey corkwood grey count grey crested tit grey crow grey crowned crane grey eminence greyen grey energy greyer greyers greyest greyey grey folk grey francolin greyfriar grey friar grey ghost Greygler grey gold
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