As adjectives the difference between elderly and gray
is that elderly is old; having lived for relatively many years while gray is having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.
As nouns the difference between elderly and gray
is that elderly is an elderly person while gray is an achromatic colour intermediate between black and white.
As a verb gray is
to become gray.
As a proper noun Gray is
{{surname|from=nicknames}}; originally a nickname for someone with a gray beard or hair.
elderly
English
Adjective
(head)
old; having lived for relatively many years
Related terms
* elder
* old
Noun
(elderlies)
an elderly person
(the elderly) older people as a whole
gray
English
Alternative forms
* grey (used in the UK and the Commonwealth and also in the US)
Etymology 1
From (etyl) ).
Adjective
(
er) (
spelled "grey" in the UK and the Commonwealth)
(label) Having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.
* Isaac Newton
-
(label) Dreary, gloomy.
*
-
(label) Having an indistinct, disputed or uncertain quality.
(label) Relating to older people.
-
* Ames
-
Usage notes
A mnemonic for remembering which spelling is used where: gre'''y'' is the '''E'''nglish spelling, while ''gr'''a'''y'' is the '''A merican spelling. However, ''grey is also found in American English.
Derived terms
{{der3, battleship gray
, gray area
, graybeard
, gray-haired
, grayhound
, grayness
, gray ghost
, gray matter}}
Verb
(
en-verb) (
spelled "grey" in the UK and the Commonwealth)
(label) To become gray.
-
(label) To cause to become gray.
To turn progressively older, in the context of the population of a geographic region.
-
Noun
(en noun) (spelled "grey" in the UK and the Commonwealth)
(label) An achromatic colour intermediate between black and white.
-
an extraterrestrial creature with grayish skin, bulbous black eyes, and an enlarged head.
A penny with a tail on both sides, used for cheating.[Sidney J. Baker, The Australian Language , second edition, 1966, chapter XI section 3, page 243]
See also
*
References
Etymology 2
Named after (Louis Harold Gray).
Noun
(
en noun)
In the International System of Units, the derived unit of absorbed dose of radiation (radiation absorbed by a patient); one joule of energy absorbed per kilogram of the patient's mass. Symbol: Gy
Derived terms
* kilogray
See also
*
