Meaning of "grey" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD GREY

Old English grǣg; related to Old High German grāo, Old Norse grar.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF GREY

grey  [ɡreɪ]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF GREY

Grey is a verb and can also act as a noun and an adjective.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb grey in English.

WHAT DOES GREY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Grey

Grey or gray is an intermediate color between black and white. Grey is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is a color "without color." It is the color of a cloud-covered sky, of ash and of lead. The first recorded use of grey as a color name in the English language was in AD 700. Grey is the dominant spelling in European and Commonwealth English, although gray remained in common usage in the UK until the second half of the 20th century. Gray has been the preferred American spelling since approximately 1825, although grey is an accepted variant.

Definition of grey in the English dictionary

The first definition of grey in the dictionary is of a neutral tone, intermediate between black and white, that has no hue and reflects and transmits only a little light. Other definition of grey is greyish in colour or having parts or marks that are greyish. Grey is also dismal or dark, esp from lack of light; gloomy.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO GREY

PRESENT

Present

I grey

you grey

he/she/it greys

we grey

you grey

they grey

Present continuous

I am greying

you are greying

he/she/it is greying

we are greying

you are greying

they are greying

Present perfect

I have greyed

you have greyed

he/she/it has greyed

we have greyed

you have greyed

they have greyed

Present perfect continuous

I have been greying

you have been greying

he/she/it has been greying

we have been greying

you have been greying

they have been greying

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I greyed

you greyed

he/she/it greyed

we greyed

you greyed

they greyed

Past continuous

I was greying

you were greying

he/she/it was greying

we were greying

you were greying

they were greying

Past perfect

I had greyed

you had greyed

he/she/it had greyed

we had greyed

you had greyed

they had greyed

Past perfect continuous

I had been greying

you had been greying

he/she/it had been greying

we had been greying

you had been greying

they had been greying

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will grey

you will grey

he/she/it will grey

we will grey

you will grey

they will grey

Future continuous

I will be greying

you will be greying

he/she/it will be greying

we will be greying

you will be greying

they will be greying

Future perfect

I will have greyed

you will have greyed

he/she/it will have greyed

we will have greyed

you will have greyed

they will have greyed

Future perfect continuous

I will have been greying

you will have been greying

he/she/it will have been greying

we will have been greying

you will have been greying

they will have been greying

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would grey

you would grey

he/she/it would grey

we would grey

you would grey

they would grey

Conditional continuous

I would be greying

you would be greying

he/she/it would be greying

we would be greying

you would be greying

they would be greying

Conditional perfect

I would have grey

you would have grey

he/she/it would have grey

we would have grey

you would have grey

they would have grey

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been greying

you would have been greying

he/she/it would have been greying

we would have been greying

you would have been greying

they would have been greying

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you grey
we let´s grey
you grey

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to grey

Past participle

greyed

Present Participle

greying

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «GREY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «grey» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of grey

aged · ambiguous · ancient · anonymous · ashen · bleak · bloodless · boring · characterless · cheerless · cloudy · colourless · comfortless · dark · debatable · depressing · dim · discouraging · disheartening · dismal · drab · dreary · dull · elderly · faceless · foggy · gloomy · grim · hoary · hopeless · joyless · like death warmed up · livid · mature · misty · murky · neutral · nondescript · old · overcast · pale · pallid · sombre · sunless · uncertain · unclear · unpromising · venerable · wan

TRANSLATION OF GREY

Find out the translation of grey to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of grey from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «grey» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 灰色的
• Translator English - Spanish: gris
• English: grey
• Translator English - Hindi: ग्रे
• Translator English - Arabic: رَمَاديّ
• Translator English - Russian: серый
• Translator English - Portuguese: cinzento
• Translator English - Bengali: ধূসর
• Translator English - French: gris
• Translator English - Malay: Kelabu
• Translator English - German: grau
• Translator English - Japanese: 灰色の
• Translator English - Korean: 회색의
• Translator English - Javanese: Abu-abu
• Translator English - Vietnamese: xám
• Translator English - Tamil: சாம்பல்
• Translator English - Marathi: राखाडी
• Translator English - Turkish: gri
• Translator English - Italian: grigio
• Translator English - Polish: szary
• Translator English - Ukrainian: сірий
• Translator English - Romanian: gri
• Translator English - Greek: γκρίζος
• Translator English - Afrikaans: grys
• Translator English - Swedish: grå
• Translator English - Norwegian: grå

10 QUOTES WITH «GREY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word grey.

1

William Bartram

First I shall name the eagle, of which there are three species: the great grey eagle is the largest, of great strength and high flight; he chiefly preys on fawns and other young quadrupeds.

2

E. F. Benson

All the teaching I had ever received had failed to make me apply such intelligence as I was possessed of, directly and vividly: there had never been any sunshine, as regards language, in the earlier grey days of learning, for the sky had always pelted with gerunds and optatives.

3

Elmer Bernstein

I made my way on to a grey list, a black list even. That's something I'm very proud of, actually.

4

Brandon Boyd

I think I grew a grey watching you procrastinate.

5

Thom Browne

My uniform: grey suit, white shirt, grey tie and tie bar, grey cardigan and black wingtips.

6

Carol Burnett

I do the 'New York Times' crossword puzzle every morning to keep the old grey matter ticking.

7

Patrick Carney

One day you look out and the audience consists of 65,000 people. It's like looking in the mirror and one day you realise you've gone grey.

8

John le Carre

During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.

9

Adelbert von Chamisso

My first care the following morning was, to devise some means of discovering the man in the grey cloak.

10

Bradley Chicho

Grey cloth coaxes the lime trees of friends shadowing berries dropped by the grateful earth.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «GREY»

Discover the use of grey in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to grey and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Fifty Shades of Grey

Romantic, liberating and totally addictive, this is a novel that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you for ever.

E L James, 2012

Fifty Shades of Grey

Romantic, liberating and totally addictive, Fifty Shades of Grey is available now as an unabridged audiobook.

E. L. James, 2012

Fifty Shades of Grey

When Anastasia Steele, a young literature student, interviews wealthy young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, their initial meeting introduces Anastasia to an exciting new world that will change them both forever.

E. L. James, 2011

Agnes Grey

Agnes Grey was published in 1847 and was the first book by Anne Bronte, the youngest of the Bronte sisters. Anne wrote this book while her sisters were working on their books.

Anne Brontë, 2010

The African Grey Parrot Handbook

A comprehensive guide to keeping an African grey parrot as a pet that covers selection, nutrition, health care, training, grooming, behavioral issues, breeding, flyaways, and other related topics. (back cover) The Information You Need to ...

Mattie Sue Athan, Dianalee Deter, 2009

Settlers by the Long Grey Trail: Some Pioneers to Old ...

A contribution to old Augusta Co. and Rockingham Co. and their descendants of the family of Harrison & allied lines.

John Houston Harrison, 1935

Grey Systems: Theory and Applications

Last but not the least, this book concludes with three appendices. The first one compares grey systems theory and interval analysis while revealing the fact that interval analysis is a part of grey mathematics.

Sifeng Liu, Yi Lin, Jeffrey Yi Lin Forrest, 2010

Aquaculture of Grey Mullets

This 1981 volume considers all the aspects of grey mullets which are of relevance to their culture.

O. H. Oren, 1981

The Grey King

A strange boy and dog remind Will Stanton that he is an immortal, whose quest is to find the golden harp which will rouse others from a long slumber in the Welsh hills so they may prepare for the ultimate battle of Light versus Dark.

Susan Cooper, 2007

African Grey Parrots: Everthing about History, Care, ...

All books in this series are filled with high quality full-color photos and instructive line art.

Maggie Wright, Margaret T. Wrightson, 2001

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «GREY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term grey is used in the context of the following news items.

GREY GOOSE® Returns As The Official Vodka Of The 2015 ESPYS

LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- GREY GOOSE®, the World's Best Tasting Vodka, will celebrate talented individuals who have chartered ... «PR Newswire, Jul 15»

Michael Grey makes way back to 107.3 WBBL for new morning …

Cumulus Grand Rapids announced Monday that Michael Grey has made his way back to Michigan radio. Grey will debut The Michael Grey ... «MLive.com, Jul 15»

'X-Men: Apocalypse' Trailer Leaks Online, Reveals Jean Grey's 'End …

The video shows Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) having what appears to be a premonition of what's to come. Professor X (James McAvoy) assures ... «iDigitalTimes.com, Jul 15»

What's green and white and grey all over?

Amanda Peet submitted this shirt design for the 2015 Fort4Fitness walk and run on September 26, 2015. Amanda Peet holds an award for ... «WANE, Jul 15»

New chef at Grey Moss Inn and upcoming vintner dinner

Andrew Wintz is the new executive chef of Grey Moss Inn, 19010 Scenic Loop Road, restaurant owner Lou Baeten announced. «mySanAntonio.com, Jul 15»

Music review: JJ Grey & Mofro at Pisgah Brewing Co.

JJ Grey seems like a guy who knows how to have a good time. He also seems like he genuinely wants everyone around him to have a good ... «Mountain Xpress, Jul 15»

British Open: Jordan Spieth is the talk of the grey old town at St …

Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a practice round ahead of the 144th Open Championship at The Old Course on July 13, 2015 in St ... «Globalnews.ca, Jul 15»

Grey's Anatomy Season 12 Coming in September, to Feature Lots of …

When “Grey's Anatomy” comes back for its 12th season on September 24, the show is going to see many changes to its structure and cast, and ... «Master Herald, Jul 15»

Camilla Luddington: Izzie Returning to Grey's Anatomy Would Be …

“Jo and Alex have had sort of three seasons of being pretty good, which is really unusual on Grey's,” the Brit says in a TVLine interview. «Wetpaint, Jul 15»

Grey Bruce Realtors Busy

Real Estate Sales in the Grey Bruce area in the first half of 2015 are well above levels for the same six months a year ago. The Realtors ... «BlackburnNews.com, Jul 15»