English Online Dictionary. What means grey? What does grey mean?
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”)).
Pronunciation
- enPR: grā, IPA(key): /ɡɹeɪ/
- Rhymes: -eɪ
Adjective
grey (comparative greyer or more grey, superlative greyest or most grey)
- British and Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
- (South Africa, slang) Synonym of coloured (pertaining to the mixed race of black and white).
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
grey (third-person singular simple present greys, present participle greying, simple past and past participle greyed)
- British and Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
Noun
grey (plural greys)
- British and Commonwealth standard spelling of gray.
Translations
See also
- greys
References
Anagrams
- -ergy, gyre
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)
- (archaic) bitch (female dog)
- wretch, pitiful person
- indefinite accusative singular of grey
- indefinite nominative plural of grey
- indefinite accusative plural of grey
Declension
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): /ɡræi̯/
- Rhymes: -æi̯
Adjective
grey (plural and weak singular greye)
- grey, dull, drab (in color)
- 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
- grey (colour)
- Fur of the grey squirrel
- grey clothes
- grey textiles
- An elderly man
- 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
Portuguese
Noun
grey m (plural greys)
- Alternative form of gray (race of extraterrestrials)
Spanish
Etymology
Inherited from Old Spanish grey, from Latin gregem, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“to assemble, gather together”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡɾei/ [ˈɡɾei̯]
- Rhymes: -ei
- Syllabification: grey
Noun
grey f (plural greyes)
- (obsolete, poetic) flock, herd
- Synonyms: rebaño, rehala
- (religion) flock (people served by a pastor, priest, etc., also all believers in a church or religion)
- Synonyms: rebaño, feligresía, congregación, iglesia
Derived terms
Related terms
See also
- (animals): ganado, hato, parvada, manada, jauría, cardumen, enjambre
Further reading
- “grey”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
- Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984) “grey”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume III (G–Ma), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 208