Where does “gray” come from?
Gray derives from Middle English grey, Old English grǣġ, Proto-Germanic grēwaz, and Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁-, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root gʰer-.
gray (English): Having a color somewhere between white and black,...
Definitions
- Having a color somewhere between white and black,...
Ancestry of “gray”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | grey | Britain and Commonwealth of Nations standard... |
| 2 | Middle English | grey | grey, dull, drab; glinting, glistening; grey |
| 3 | Old English | grǣġ | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *grāu | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | grēwaz | grey |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰreh₁- | to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow |
Words derived from “gray”