# Gray vs Grey which one is the color? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858 "2014-11-17T16:22:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/21 "2014-11-17T17:41:13Z")
My preference which no one is beholden to but me is to use grey for cool greys and gray for warm grays. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/22 "2014-11-17T17:43:32Z")
Good to know. I always get them confused. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/23 "2014-11-17T17:53:50Z")
I’m an American and for some crazy reason I spell it “grey” for the color. And I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the communist party! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/24 "2014-11-17T19:06:05Z")
There is a town near me called Gray. If you spell it(the town, not the color) with an e people tend to get mad. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/25 "2014-11-17T19:20:55Z")
Gray is the color. Grey is the colour. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/26 "2014-11-17T19:30:58Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > {…} Edit: damn you! In the time I spent putting the italics back in, you posted the link. There is an inverse relationship between the time it takes to construct a post and the degree to which it contributes to a discussion. ~ **Hentor the Barbarian** ’s[Rule of Posting Composition](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7063251&postcount=20) CMC fnord! So is **Grey** a grey Grey, or a gray Grey, or a grey Gray, or a gray Gray, or a . . . OWW, my ass! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/27 "2014-11-17T19:32:23Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Grey is simply the proper way to spell the word that describes a the colour between black and white. The US spelling variant showed up in Webster’s dictionary in the early 19th century - [Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of ... - Marianne Celce-Murcia, Donna Brinton, Janet M. Goodwin - Google Books](http://books.google.ca/books?id=twC-H4a8VcYC&pg=PA282&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false) > > Both Grey and Gray are used as last names. We have a friend, a very cool dude, who works Dawn Beach in St Martin. His name is Grey. But I can’t imagine him participating in an Internet message board. He’s way too cool for that.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/28 "2014-11-17T19:46:22Z")
To add to the confusion, a Grey wolf is the color gray. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/29 "2014-11-17T19:53:31Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Surely grey is the colour, whereas gray is the color? > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Gray is the color. Grey is the colour. There seems to be an echo in here. I wonder what color/colour it is? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/30 "2014-11-17T21:58:17Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > “A” proper way, not “the” proper way. Both “gray” and “grey” have equal standing, just as “colour” and “color”. Seniority doesn’t matter a whit, even whenit can be conclusively established. > > Without researching, I bet “gray” has a very long history. There are historical links for the name Gray/Grey to the French name de Grau. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/31 "2014-11-17T23:07:23Z")
If you quote the “rules” your high school English teacher taught you as the way language works, you will always lose. Teachers give out “rules” because that way you will be minimally correct, not because there aren’t other equally valid ways of doing it. If you learn anything in English after high school, that will be the first and most important thing you’ll figure out. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/32 "2014-11-18T02:50:41Z")
So how many shades of grey are there and how many shades of gray? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/33 "2014-11-18T03:15:26Z")
Prime Minister Earl Grey. Governor General Earl Grey. Earl Grey tea. The GREY CUP!! Case closed. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/34 "2014-11-18T03:23:18Z")
It’s quite simple: “Gray” is American, “grey” is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/35 "2014-11-18T04:08:53Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Prime Minister Earl Grey. > > Governor General Earl Grey. Grandson of the PM > [@](#): > > Earl Grey tea. named after the PM > [@](#): > > The GREY CUP!! named after the GG > [@](#): > > Case closed. Objection counselor! A tad bit more evidence would be appreciated… ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/36 "2014-11-18T05:55:50Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s quite simple: “Gray” is American, “grey” is wrong. The “a” is for America. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/37 "2014-11-18T06:25:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s quite simple: “Gray” is American, “grey” is wrong. No, no. “Grey” is correct; “gray” is American. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/38 "2014-11-18T15:08:35Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s quite simple: “Gray” is American, “grey” is wrong. America! At least we drive on the right side of the road! > [@cmyk](#): > > The “a” is for America. And the “e” is for England. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/39 "2014-11-20T02:54:14Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > The “a” is for America. Damn straight! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858/40 "2014-11-20T03:32:48Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Just waiting for the deep debate on why anal probing is a completely legitimate branch of xenobiology and then I can finally stop posting. We have another [Grey](http://76.12.6.85/99/021612-zero/231.jpg) working on the topic of anal probing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-one-is-the-color/704858.md?page=1)