‘Gray’ vs. ‘Grey’: What is the Difference?

Grey And grey are all common spellings of the color between black and white. Grey more often in American English, while grey more common in British English. Different usage of both grey And grey extends to specialized terms such as animals (gray whale/gray whale) and scientific terms (gray matter/gray matter). greyhound is an exception, having a different origin than color.

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It’s all a bit… cloudy.

Colors that are known to be in the range between black and white can be spelled out grey or grey. This is one of the most frequently asked words in English when it comes to spelling, because both spellings are common enough to sound familiar. Out of two, grey occurs more often in American English, while grey has historically been the spelling preferred by British English publications. It comes from Old English grǣg.

“Fifteen year old Jo… has a determined mouth, a funny and sharp nose, grey eyes, seeming to see everything, and in turn are intense, humorous or thoughtful. — Louisa May Alcott, Little woman1868-9

It was a tall, thin man, about fifty years old, with a drooping mustache and grey hair. — W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence1919

‘Gray’ vs ‘Gray’ Beyond color

The spelling difference translates to animal names and other specialized terms that use the word, such as gray/gray whale, gray/gray squirrelor slang term gray matter / gray matter for the brain.

Even though Americans love greySpell grey retains a healthy presence in many of the cultural references Americans know, such as the Gray Poupon mustard and the Gray Goose vodka, both of which are of French origin. titles Grey’s Anatomy (a TV series) and Fifty Shades of Shades (a series of erotic novels by an English writer, EL James) have those spellings because they play after the names of characters named Gray in those works.

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The slim dog breed famous for its racing ability is called greyhound, and it’s always been written that way. But the etymology of the name doesn’t determine that grey about its color; it comes from an Old English word, grīghundthe first part is different from grǣg and has been associated with a Norse word for a bitch.

Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn

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