I. adjective
or grey ˈgrā
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English grǣg; akin to Old High German grāo gray, Old Norse grār, Old Slavic zĭrĕti to see, look
1.
a. : of the color gray : of a color formed by a blending of white and black
b. : tending toward gray
a gray -red
c. : dull in color : lacking brightness
a gray cloudy day
d. of textiles : being in an unbleached undyed state as taken from the loom : unfinished
finisher of gray goods
2.
a. : having the hair gray : hoary
a gray old man
b. : elderly , mature : characteristic of age
gray wisdom
3.
a. : clothed in gray : wearing a gray costume
b. of an animal : having a coat of mingled black and white hairs
4. : lacking cheer or brightness
a dim gray report
: dull in mood or outlook
the gray office routine
: dismal , miserable
gray prospects of success
5. : intermediate in position, condition, or character ; especially of a marketing method : evading the spirit of legal controls without being overtly illegal
• gray·ly or grey·ly adverb
II. noun
or grey “
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from gray, grey, adjective
1. : an animal or thing of gray color (as a horse, garment, cloth, spot)
2.
a. obsolete : gray fur prob. of the badger
b. archaic : badger
3.
a. : a color formed by blending black and white
b. : one of the series of neutral or achromatic object colors ranging between black and white and characteristically perceived to belong to objects that reflect diffusely to the same degree all parts of the spectrum
c. : an object color of low saturation
4. slang Britain : a halfpenny with both sides the same used by sharpers
III. verb
or grey “
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: gray (I) , grey
transitive verb
: to make or cause to become or appear gray or grayish
gray the paint with a little lampblack
grayed her mother's hair with worry
clouds graying the sky
intransitive verb
: to become gray
IV. intransitive verb
: age ; also : to contain an increasing percentage of older people
the graying suburbs
V. ˈgrā noun
( -s )
Etymology: after Louis Harold Gray died 1965 British radiobiologist
: the mks unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation equal to an energy of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material — abbreviation Gy