Gray? Grey? Same or different?
June 6, 2004 1:53 AM Subscribe
What's the difference between "gray" and "grey"?
Also, CSS accepts "gray" but not "grey" to mean #808080.
posted by nicwolff at 2:17 AM on June 6, 2004
posted by nicwolff at 2:17 AM on June 6, 2004
Some people seem to think they're different colors. Those people are, of course, insane.
posted by jjg at 2:22 AM on June 6, 2004
posted by jjg at 2:22 AM on June 6, 2004
Of course they aren't different colo(u)rs, but it almost feels like they could be. "Grey" seems very nuanced and subtle to me, while "gray" seems very flat. Damn Benjamin Franklin for ever having started this whole alternative spelling thing (it was him, wasn't it?)... I much prefer the original British spellings (and pronunciations) of words, though I must admit that I really appreciate the American pronunciation of "schedule".
posted by taz at 3:13 AM on June 6, 2004
posted by taz at 3:13 AM on June 6, 2004
In that last thread, people seem to bring up synaesthesia as an explanation for what taz says and I agree with, but I think the explanation is much simpler.
In most of the "great" literature I read when I was younger, the preferred word was always 'grey' so this word seems more poetic, complex - it's the color of fog and rainclouds.
My most common association for 'gray' on the other hand is from manufacturing: Would you like white tile or gray tile? According to the 3M website, Duct Tape is "gray"
So its just a matter of association.
posted by vacapinta at 3:33 AM on June 6, 2004
In most of the "great" literature I read when I was younger, the preferred word was always 'grey' so this word seems more poetic, complex - it's the color of fog and rainclouds.
My most common association for 'gray' on the other hand is from manufacturing: Would you like white tile or gray tile? According to the 3M website, Duct Tape is "gray"
So its just a matter of association.
posted by vacapinta at 3:33 AM on June 6, 2004
Response by poster: What about names? What would you think to be more likely, Mr. Gray or Mr. Grey?
posted by cohappy at 3:51 AM on June 6, 2004
posted by cohappy at 3:51 AM on June 6, 2004
Ah - yes; I think you're absolutely right vacapinta.
cohappy - what do you mean by "likely"?
posted by taz at 4:26 AM on June 6, 2004
cohappy - what do you mean by "likely"?
posted by taz at 4:26 AM on June 6, 2004
In most of the "great" literature I read when I was younger, the preferred word was always 'grey' so this word seems more poetic, complex - it's the color of fog and rainclouds.
My most common association for 'gray' on the other hand is from manufacturing: Would you like white tile or gray tile? According to the 3M website, Duct Tape is "gray"
The difference between grey and gray is one of those American vs. British spelling quirks (for which we can thank both Franklin and Noah Webster), but there is no difference in meaning.
If "grey" seems more poetic or literary, it's probably because you're American and have mostly seen it used in literature. (But not all literature: look for it in writing by British or Commonwealth authors. US authors and editors will choose "gray" almost every time.) Everywhere else in the US -- except on the internet, where spelling is optional -- the American spelling is the standard.
However, in Britain, there's only one "correct" spelling, and it has to suffice both for fog, rainclouds, and 3M's tape products.
posted by blue mustard at 6:26 AM on June 6, 2004
My most common association for 'gray' on the other hand is from manufacturing: Would you like white tile or gray tile? According to the 3M website, Duct Tape is "gray"
The difference between grey and gray is one of those American vs. British spelling quirks (for which we can thank both Franklin and Noah Webster), but there is no difference in meaning.
If "grey" seems more poetic or literary, it's probably because you're American and have mostly seen it used in literature. (But not all literature: look for it in writing by British or Commonwealth authors. US authors and editors will choose "gray" almost every time.) Everywhere else in the US -- except on the internet, where spelling is optional -- the American spelling is the standard.
However, in Britain, there's only one "correct" spelling, and it has to suffice both for fog, rainclouds, and 3M's tape products.
posted by blue mustard at 6:26 AM on June 6, 2004
What would you think to be more likely, Mr. Gray or Mr. Grey?
In the US, GRAY is a much more common last name than GREY. Check out the white pages for your favorite city. I couldn't find a ratio lower than 8:1 in favor of GRAY (this is Connecticut's ratio). Nationwide, it looks like it's probably closer to 15:1 or 20:1. In Nebraska, it's 35:1.
In the UK, it seems GREY is more common. These white pages suggest that the ratio in London is 2:1 in favour of GREY.
posted by blue mustard at 6:58 AM on June 6, 2004
In the US, GRAY is a much more common last name than GREY. Check out the white pages for your favorite city. I couldn't find a ratio lower than 8:1 in favor of GRAY (this is Connecticut's ratio). Nationwide, it looks like it's probably closer to 15:1 or 20:1. In Nebraska, it's 35:1.
In the UK, it seems GREY is more common. These white pages suggest that the ratio in London is 2:1 in favour of GREY.
posted by blue mustard at 6:58 AM on June 6, 2004
What's the difference between "gray" and "grey"?
A "e".
posted by coelecanth at 8:10 AM on June 6, 2004
A "e".
posted by coelecanth at 8:10 AM on June 6, 2004
There's this thing, right, called a dictionary. WHAT THE FUCK ;)
At least when I randomly asked this in metatalk a year ago I asked people which they prefer!
posted by The God Complex at 9:24 AM on June 6, 2004
At least when I randomly asked this in metatalk a year ago I asked people which they prefer!
posted by The God Complex at 9:24 AM on June 6, 2004
Damn Benjamin Franklin for ever having started this whole alternative spelling thing (it was him, wasn't it?)
That'd be Noah Webster.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:48 AM on June 6, 2004
I'm pretty sure this is a double post, believe it or not.
Someone posted saying they think of grey as a somewhat different shade, and whether there was any chromatic difference or whether they were just synonyms. The latter is the case, of course.
Maybe it was another site, but I do seem to remember it..
posted by abcde at 1:19 PM on June 6, 2004
Someone posted saying they think of grey as a somewhat different shade, and whether there was any chromatic difference or whether they were just synonyms. The latter is the case, of course.
Maybe it was another site, but I do seem to remember it..
posted by abcde at 1:19 PM on June 6, 2004
Ah, jjg did it already.
People have magic abilities to retrieve stuff here without a search engine.
posted by abcde at 1:20 PM on June 6, 2004
People have magic abilities to retrieve stuff here without a search engine.
posted by abcde at 1:20 PM on June 6, 2004
I was the one who posted earlier on this - I seriously have different color perceptions of the two spellings. Grey is more blue, Gray is more red.
Most people don't seem to have this distinction (though some do, and others think of them in terms of light/dark, while one friend has a green/blue distinction), and only notice the difference in spelling. I know that really, the two spellings should mean the same color. But what people perceive can be different than what is textbook, and I wanted to know if I was horribly alone in my color sense.
Turns out, while I'm not exactly normal, I'm not horribly insane, either. So it all works out. :)
posted by emmling at 12:53 AM on June 7, 2004
Most people don't seem to have this distinction (though some do, and others think of them in terms of light/dark, while one friend has a green/blue distinction), and only notice the difference in spelling. I know that really, the two spellings should mean the same color. But what people perceive can be different than what is textbook, and I wanted to know if I was horribly alone in my color sense.
Turns out, while I'm not exactly normal, I'm not horribly insane, either. So it all works out. :)
posted by emmling at 12:53 AM on June 7, 2004
I think of "grey" and "gray" as being respectively bluer and redder, too, but I think that's some kind of mildly synesthetic byproduct of the spelling -- there's something red about the "a" and something blue about the "e". My proof for this is that in conversation I've never heard anyone say "Wait a minute: do you mean to say that that (object) was grey? Or gray?"
posted by coelecanth at 9:32 AM on June 7, 2004
posted by coelecanth at 9:32 AM on June 7, 2004
My friend Dorien is Grey, not Gray. He's American, but the name is from Oscar Wilde. Go figure.
posted by Goofyy at 8:35 AM on June 8, 2004
posted by Goofyy at 8:35 AM on June 8, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
Gray is a color.
Grey is a colour.
posted by taz at 2:04 AM on June 6, 2004