Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “greyish” come from?

Greyish comes from Old English -isċ combined with Old English grey, which derives from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁- meaning to shine or gleam.

greyish (English): Alternative spelling of grayish

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of grayish

Ancestry of “greyish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ishTypical of, similar to, being like; Somewhat,...
2Middle English-ishAlternative form of -yssh
3Old English-isċ-ish
4Proto-West Germanic-iskCreates adjectives from nouns
5Proto-Germanic-iskazForms adjectives from nouns with the sense of...
6Proto-Indo-European-iskosCharacteristic of, typical of, pertaining to

Words derived from “greyish”

  • greyishness
  • greyishly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iskos →