Etymograph

English

gray

Gray comes from Old English grǣġ ‘grey’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *grēwaz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grēwaz1‘grey’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grāg1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150grǣġ2‘grey’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gray2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1817gray2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English græg
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English gray
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam. […]: “Two hours, whose mighty circle did embrace More time…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grēwazWiktionary, Old English græg‘grey’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grāgWiktionary, Old English grægreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150grǣġWiktionary, English gray‘grey’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grayWiktionary, English gray
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1817grayWiktionary, English gray. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam. […]: “Two hours, whose mighty circle did embrace More time…”

The story

Further derived from Proto-West Germanic *grāu, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz (‘grey’), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁- (‘to green, to grow’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *grāg

grey

Today it means

adj Of a color between black and white, having neutral hue and intermediate brightness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “gray”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English græg. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *grēwaz / gray

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