gray

I. adjective also grey Etymology: Middle English, from Old English grǣg; akin to Old High German grīs, grāo gray Date: before 12th century 1. a. of the color gray b. tending toward gray <

blue-gray eyes

> c. dull in color 2. having the hair gray ; hoary 3. clothed in gray 4. a. lacking cheer or brightness in mood, outlook, style, or flavor; also dismal, gloomy <

a gray day

> b. prosaically ordinary ; dull, uninteresting 5. having an intermediate and often vaguely defined position, condition, or character <

an ethically gray area

> • grayly adverb • grayness noun II. noun also grey Date: 13th century 1. something (as an animal, garment, cloth, or spot) of a gray color 2. any of a series of neutral colors ranging between black and white 3. a. a soldier in the Confederate army during the American Civil War b. often capitalized the Confederate army III. verb also grey Date: 14th century transitive verb to make gray intransitive verb 1. to become gray <

graying hair

> 2. age; also to contain an increasing percentage of older people IV. noun Etymology: Louis H. Gray died 1965 British radiobiologist Date: 1975 the mks unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation equal to an energy of one joule per kilogram of irradiated material — abbreviation Gy