Where does “greylist” come from?

greylist (English) comes from English Grey, from Middle English grey, from Old English grǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *grāu, from Proto-Germanic grēwaz, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁- — to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow.

greylist (English): A list, resembling a blacklist, for less serious...

Definitions

  1. A list, resembling a blacklist, for less serious...

Ancestry of “greylist”, step by step

greylist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Grey

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishGreyA member of the Royal Scots Greys, a cavalry...
2Middle Englishgreygrey, dull, drab; glinting, glistening; grey
3Old Englishgrǣġ
4Proto-West Germanic*grāugrey
5Proto-Germanicgrēwazgrey
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰreh₁-to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow

via English List

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishListA strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth
2Frenchlistelist
3Germanlīstelist
4Italianlistalist, pile; strip, stripe; inflection of...
5Old High Germanlīsta
6Proto-Germaniclīstōn
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁-Every word from Proto-Germanic grēwazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *grāu