Gray vs Fray - What's the difference?
gray | fray |
(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
(label) To become gray.
(label) To cause to become gray.
To turn progressively older, in the context of the population of a geographic region.
(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
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
Affray; broil; contest; combat; brawl; melee.
* Shakespeare
* {{quote-news
, year=2010
, date=December 29
, author=Mark Vesty
, title=Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal
, work=BBC
(archaic) fright
To unravel; used particularly for the edge of something made of cloth, or the end of a rope.
(figuratively) To cause exhaustion, wear out (a person's mental strength).
(archaic) frighten; alarm
* 1662 , , Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 63:
* Spenser
To bear the expense of; to defray.
* Massinger
To rub.
* Sir Walter Scott
As verbs the difference between gray and fray
is that gray is to become gray while fray is to unravel; used particularly for the edge of something made of cloth, or the end of a rope.As nouns the difference between gray and fray
is that gray is an achromatic colour intermediate between black and white while fray is affray; broil; contest; combat; brawl; melee.As an adjective gray
is having a color somewhere between white and black, as the ash of an ember.As a proper noun Gray
is {{surname|from=nicknames}}; originally a nickname for someone with a gray beard or hair.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)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)Noun
See also
*References
Etymology 2
Named after (Louis Harold Gray).Noun
(en noun)Derived terms
* kilograySee also
*Anagrams
* * English eponyms ----fray
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) frai, aphetic variant of affray.Noun
(en noun)- Though they did not know the reason for the dispute, they did not hesitate to leap into the fray .
- Who began this bloody fray ?
citation, page= , passage=Wigan, unbeaten in five games at the DW Stadium, looked well in control but the catalyst for Arsenal's improvement finally came when Diaby left the field with a calf injury and Jack Wilshere came into the fray , bringing some much needed determination and urgency to lacklustre Arsenal. }}
Etymology 2
From (etyl) fraien, from (etyl) frayer, from (etyl) .Verb
(en verb)- The ribbon frayed at the cut end.
- The stressful day ended in frayed nerves. (Metaphorical use; nerves are visualised as strings)
- "Besides, all the wit and Philosophy in the world can never demonstrate, that the killing and slaughtering of a Beast is anymore then the striking of a Bush where a Bird's Nest is, where you fray away the Bird, and then seize upon the empty Nest."
- What frays ye, that were wont to comfort me affrayed?
- The charge of my most curious and costly ingredients frayed , I shall acknowledge myself amply satisfied.
- We can show the marks he made / When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed .