Wiktionary

gray

See also: Gray

English

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Various shades of gray.

Alternative forms

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  • grey (used in the UK)

Etymology 1

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From Middle English gray, from Old English grǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *grāu, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁- (“to green, to grow”).

See also Dutch grauw, German grau, Old Norse grár); also 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

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Adjective

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gray (comparative grayer or more gray, superlative grayest or most gray)

  1. Of a colour between black and white.
  2. Dreary, gloomy.
    • 1980, Daniel C. Gerould, Stanisław I. Witkiewicz, The Beelzebub Sonata: Plays, Essays, Documents:
      the era of gray, boring banality and stagnation
  3. Of an indistinct, disputed or uncertain quality.
  4. Gray-haired.
  5. Old.
    • 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 206:
      Two hours, whose mighty circle did embrace
      More time than might make grey the infant world,
      Rolled thus, a weary and tumultuous space: […]
    • 2004, Betty Berzon, Permanent Partners: Building Gay & Lesbian Relationships That Last, page 20:
      In a subculture that idealizes youth, being gay and gray does not exactly make one a hot ticket. Older gays and lesbians often relegate themselves to separate and unequal meeting places.
  6. Relating to older people.
    the gray dollar ― the purchasing power of the elderly
    • February 8, 1800, Fisher Ames, Eulogy on Washington
      Gray experience listened to his counsels with respect, and, at a time when youth is almost privileged to be rash, Virginia committed the safety of her frontier, and ultimately the safety of America, not merely to his valor,—for that would be scarcely praise,—but to his prudence.
Usage notes
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  • In the early 20th century, an attempt was made to introduce an artificial distinction between gray and grey, with the former being used for a "mixture of white and blue", but the latter being used for a "mixture made by white and black";[1] this has not been generally adopted.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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gray (third-person singular simple present grays, present participle graying, simple past and past participle grayed)

  1. To become gray.
    My hair is beginning to gray.
  2. To cause to become gray.
  3. (demography, slang) To turn progressively older, alluding to graying of hair through aging (used in context of the population of a geographic region)
    the graying of America
    • 2018 September 18, Amanda Kolson Hurley, “Fake Public Squares Are Coming to the Suburbs”, in The Atlantic‎[2]:
      It’s not what advocates of retrofitting the suburbs may have had in mind, but it’s a logical outcome of the graying of America, and of suburbia in particular.
  4. (transitive, photography) To give a soft effect to (a photograph) by covering the negative while printing with a ground-glass plate.
Translations
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Noun

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gray (plural grays)

  1. An achromatic colour between black and white.
    grey:  
  2. An animal or thing of grey colour, such as a horse, badger, or salmon.
  3. A gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus.
    • 1971 Mar, National Geographic, page 411:
      Log-shaped barnacles become embedded in the hide of the gray.
  4. (chiefly US, ufology) Synonym of grey alien
  5. (US, two-up) A penny with a tail on both sides, used for cheating.[2]
Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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Colors/Colours in English (layout · text)
             red          orange              yellow              green              blue (incl.      indigo;
             cyan, teal, turquoise) 		             purple / violet
         pink (including
         magenta) 		         brown      white              gray/grey      black

References

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  1. ^ Jespersen, Otto (1909) A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (Sammlung germanischer Elementar- und Handbücher; 9)‎[1], volumes I: Sounds and Spellings, London: George Allen & Unwin, published 1961, § 3.61, page 96.
  2. ^ Sidney J. Baker, The Australian Language, second edition, 1966, chapter XI section 3, page 243

Etymology 2

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Named after English physicist Louis Harold Gray (1905–1965).

Noun

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gray (plural grays)

  2. 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
    Coordinate term: rad
Derived terms
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Translations
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Further reading
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Anagrams

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Czech

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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gray m inan

  1. gray (unit of absorbed radiation)

Declension

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Declension of gray (soft masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative gray graye
genitive graye grayů
dative grayi grayům
accusative gray graye
vocative grayi graye
locative grayi grayích
instrumental grayem grayi

Further reading

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  • gray in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Finnish

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Etymology

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From English gray.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɡrei̯/, [ˈɡre̞i̯]

Noun

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gray

  1. gray (SI unit)

Declension

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Inflection of gray (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative gray grayt
genitive grayn grayiden
grayitten
partitive graytä grayitä
illative grayhin
grayhyn 		grayihin
singular plural
nominative gray grayt
accusative nom. gray grayt
gen. grayn
genitive grayn grayiden
grayitten
partitive graytä grayitä
inessive grayssä grayissä
elative graystä grayistä
illative grayhin
grayhyn 		grayihin
adessive grayllä grayillä
ablative grayltä grayiltä
allative graylle grayille
essive graynä grayinä
translative grayksi grayiksi
abessive grayttä grayittä
instructive — grayin
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of gray (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative grayni grayni
accusative nom. grayni grayni
gen. grayni
genitive grayni grayideni
grayitteni
partitive graytäni grayitäni
inessive grayssäni grayissäni
elative graystäni grayistäni
illative grayhini
grayhyni 		grayihini
adessive graylläni grayilläni
ablative grayltäni grayiltäni
allative graylleni grayilleni
essive graynäni grayinäni
translative graykseni grayikseni
abessive grayttäni grayittäni
instructive — —
comitative — grayineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative graysi graysi
accusative nom. graysi graysi
gen. graysi
genitive graysi grayidesi
grayittesi
partitive graytäsi grayitäsi
inessive grayssäsi grayissäsi
elative graystäsi grayistäsi
illative grayhisi
grayhysi 		grayihisi
adessive graylläsi grayilläsi
ablative grayltäsi grayiltäsi
allative grayllesi grayillesi
essive graynäsi grayinäsi
translative grayksesi grayiksesi
abessive grayttäsi grayittäsi
instructive — —
comitative — grayinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative graymme graymme
accusative nom. graymme graymme
gen. graymme
genitive graymme grayidemme
grayittemme
partitive graytämme grayitämme
inessive grayssämme grayissämme
elative graystämme grayistämme
illative grayhimme
grayhymme 		grayihimme
adessive grayllämme grayillämme
ablative grayltämme grayiltämme
allative grayllemme grayillemme
essive graynämme grayinämme
translative grayksemme grayiksemme
abessive grayttämme grayittämme
instructive — —
comitative — grayinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative graynne graynne
accusative nom. graynne graynne
gen. graynne
genitive graynne grayidenne
grayittenne
partitive graytänne grayitänne
inessive grayssänne grayissänne
elative graystänne grayistänne
illative grayhinne
grayhynne 		grayihinne
adessive grayllänne grayillänne
ablative grayltänne grayiltänne
allative grayllenne grayillenne
essive graynänne grayinänne
translative grayksenne grayiksenne
abessive grayttänne grayittänne
instructive — —
comitative — grayinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative graynsä graynsä
accusative nom. graynsä graynsä
gen. graynsä
genitive graynsä grayidensä
grayittensä
partitive graytään
graytänsä 		grayitään
grayitänsä
inessive grayssään
grayssänsä 		grayissään
grayissänsä
elative graystään
graystänsä 		grayistään
grayistänsä
illative grayhinsä
grayhynsä 		grayihinsä
adessive grayllään
grayllänsä 		grayillään
grayillänsä
ablative grayltään
grayltänsä 		grayiltään
grayiltänsä
allative graylleen
grayllensä 		grayilleen
grayillensä
essive graynään
graynänsä 		grayinään
grayinänsä
translative graykseen
grayksensä 		grayikseen
grayiksensä
abessive grayttään
grayttänsä 		grayittään
grayittänsä
instructive — —
comitative — grayineen
grayinensä

Further reading

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French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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gray m (plural grays)

  1. gray (SI unit)

Portuguese

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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gray m (plural grays)

  1. (physics) gray (SI unit of absorbed radiation)

Etymology 2

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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gray m (plural grays)

  1. (ufology) gray (one of a race of evil, short extraterrestrial beings)

Swedish

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Noun

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gray c

  1. gray (SI unit)
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