gray

英 [greɪ] 美[ɡre]

CET4TEM4CET6核心词汇

第三人称单数: grays;过去式: grayed;过去分词: grayed;现在分词: graying;

gray 灰白色

来自PIE*gher, 照耀，照明。此处指微光，灰白色。词义演变比较brown, 来自PIE*bher, 照耀，照明，词源同bright.

gray (adj.): "of a color between white and black; having little or no color or luminosity," Old English græg "gray" (Mercian grei), from Proto-Germanic *grewa- "gray" (cognates: Old Norse grar, Old Frisian gre, Middle Dutch gra, Dutch graw, Old High German grao, German grau), with no certain connections outside Germanic. French gris, Spanish gris, Italian grigio, Medieval Latin griseus are Germanic loan-words. The spelling distinction between British grey and U.S. gray developed 20c. Expression the gray mare is the better horse in reference to households ruled by wives is recorded from 1540s.
gray (n.): c. 1200, from gray (adj.). Gray as figurative for "Southern troops in the U.S. Civil War" is first recorded 1863, in reference to their uniform color.
gray (v.): "become gray, wither," 1610s (with an isolated instance from late 14c.), from gray (adj.). Related: Grayed; graying.

1. His hair was disheveled, and his face was unshaven and gray.: 他头发凌乱，没刮胡子，脸色苍白。

2. Lovett was a tall, commanding man with a waxed gray mustache.: 洛维特是个威严的高个男人，蓄着灰白的八字胡。

5. In the mornings the sky appeared a heavy shade of mottled gray.: 清晨，天空呈现出斑驳的深灰色。