Grey
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Grey (more common in
The first recorded use of grey as a color name in the English language was in 700 CE.[5] Grey is the dominant spelling in European and Commonwealth English, while gray is more common in American English; however, both spellings are valid in both varieties of English.[6]
In Europe and North America, surveys show that grey is the color most commonly associated with neutrality, conformity, boredom, uncertainty, old age, indifference, and modesty. Only one percent of respondents chose it as their favorite color.[7]
Etymology
Grey comes from the Middle English grai or grei, from the Old English grǣġ, and is related to the Dutch grauw and German grau.[8] There are no certain cognates outside Germanic languages; terms such as Spanish gris and Italian grigio are considered Germanic loanwords from Medieval Latin griseus.[9] The first recorded use of grey as a color name in the English language was in 700 AD.[5]
The distinction between grey and gray spellings in usual Commonwealth and American English respectively developed in the c. 20th century.[9]
In history and art
Antiquity through the Middle Ages
In
Renaissance and the Baroque
During the Renaissance and the Baroque, grey began to play an important role in fashion and art. Black became the most popular color of the nobility, particularly in Italy, France, and Spain, and grey and white were harmonious with it.
Grey was also frequently used for the drawing of oil paintings, a technique called grisaille. The painting would first be composed in grey and white, and then the colors, made with thin transparent glazes, would be added on top. The grisaille beneath would provide the shading, visible through the layers of color. Sometimes, the grisaille was simply left uncovered, giving the appearance of carved stone.
Grey was a particularly good background color for gold and for skin tones. It became the most common background for the portraits of
Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
Grey became a highly fashionable color in the 18th century, both for women's dresses and for men's waistcoats and coats. It looked particularly luminous coloring the silk and satin fabrics worn by the nobility and wealthy.
Women's fashion in the 19th century was dominated by Paris, while men's fashion was set by London. The grey business suit appeared in the mid-19th century in London; light grey in summer, dark grey in winter; replacing the more colorful palette of men's clothing early in the century.
The clothing of women working in the factories and workshops of Paris in the 19th century was usually grey. This gave them the name of grisettes. "Gris" or grey also meant drunk, and the name "grisette" was also given to the lower class of Parisian prostitutes.
Grey also became a common color for military uniforms; in an age of rifles with longer range, soldiers in grey were less visible as targets than those in blue or red. Grey was the color of the uniforms of the
Several artists of the mid-19th century used tones of grey to create memorable paintings; Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot used tones of green-grey and blue grey to give harmony to his landscapes, and James McNeill Whistler created a special grey for the background of the portrait of his mother, and for his own self-portrait.
Whistler's arrangement of tones of grey had an effect on the world of music, on the French composer Claude Debussy. In 1894, Debussy wrote to violinist Eugène Ysaÿe describing his Nocturnes as "an experiment in the combinations that can be obtained from one color – what a study in grey would be in painting".[11]
Twentieth and twenty-first centuries
In the late 1930s, grey became a symbol of industrialization and war. It was the dominant color of
After the war, the grey business suit became a metaphor for uniformity of thought, popularized in such books as The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1955), which became a successful film in 1956.[13]
In the sciences, nature, and technology
Storm clouds
The whiteness or darkness of clouds is a function of their depth. Small, fluffy white clouds in summer look white because the sunlight is being scattered by the tiny water droplets they contain, and that white light comes to the viewer's eye. However, as clouds become larger and thicker, the white light cannot penetrate through the cloud, and is reflected off the top. Clouds look darkest grey during thunderstorms, when they can be as much as 20,000 to 30,000 feet high.
Stratiform clouds are a layer of clouds that covers the entire sky, and which have a depth of between a few hundred to a few thousand feet thick. The thicker the clouds, the darker they appear from below, because little of the sunlight is able to pass through. From above, in an airplane, the same clouds look perfectly white, but from the ground the sky looks gloomy and grey.[14]
The greying of hair
The color of a person's hair is created by the pigment
Melanin itself is the product of a specialized cell, the melanocyte, which is found in each hair follicle, from which the hair grows. As hair grows, the melanocyte injects melanin into the hair cells, which contain the protein keratin and which makes up our hair, skin, and nails. As long as the melanocytes continue injecting melanin into the hair cells, the hair retains its original color. At a certain age, however, which varies from person to person, the amount of melanin injected is reduced and eventually stops. The hair, without pigment, turns grey and eventually white. The reason for this decline of production of melanocytes is uncertain. In the February 2005 issue of Science, a team of Harvard scientists suggested that the cause was the failure of the melanocyte stem cells to maintain the production of the essential pigments, due to age or genetic factors, after a certain period of time. For some people, the breakdown comes in their twenties; for others, many years later.[15] According to the site of the magazine Scientific American, "Generally speaking, among Caucasians 50 percent are 50 percent grey by age 50."[16] Adult male gorillas also develop silver hair, but only on their backs – see Physical characteristics of gorillas.
Optics
Over the centuries, artists have traditionally created grey by mixing black and white in various proportions. They added a little red to make a warmer grey, or a little blue for a cooler grey. Artists could also make a grey by mixing two complementary colors, such as orange and blue.
Today the grey on televisions, computer displays, and telephones is usually created using the RGB color model. Red, green, and blue light combined at full intensity on the black screen makes white; by lowering the intensity, it is possible to create shades of grey.
In printing, grey is usually obtained with the
Warm grey | Cool grey |
Mixed with 6% yellow. | Mixed with 6% blue. |
- RGBmodel
- Grey values result when r = g = b, for the color (r, g, b)
- CMYKmodel
- Grey values are produced by c = m = y = 0, for the color (c, m, y, k). Lightness is adjusted by varying k. In theory, any mixture where c = m = y is neutral, but in practice such mixtures are often a muddy brown.
- HSL and HSV model
- Achromatic greys have no hue, so the h code is marked as "undefined" using a dash: --; greys also result whenever s is 0 or undefined, as is the case when v is 0 or l is 0 or 1
|
Web colors
There are several tones of grey available for use with
Pigments
Until the 19th century, artists traditionally created grey by simply combining black and white.
In the early 19th century, a new grey,
Animal color
Grey is a very common color for animals, birds, and fish, ranging in size from whales to mice. It provides a natural camouflage and allows them to blend with their surroundings.
Grey matter of the brain
The substance that composes the brain is sometimes referred to as grey matter, or "the little grey cells", so the color grey is associated with things intellectual. However, the living human brain is actually pink in color; it only turns grey when dead.
Nanotechnology and grey goo
Grey noise
In sound engineering,
In culture
Religion
In the Christian religion, grey is the color of ashes, and so a
Buddhist monks and priests in Japan and Korea will often wear a sleeved grey, brown, or black outer robe.
Politics
Grey is rarely used as a color by political parties, largely because of its common association with conformity, boredom and indecision. An example of a political party using grey as a color are the German
The term "grey power" or "the grey vote" is sometimes used to describe the influence of older voters as a voting bloc. In the United States, older people are more likely to vote, and usually vote to protect certain social benefits, such as Social Security.[21][22]
Greys is a term sometimes used pejoratively by environmentalists in the
Military
During the
The new uniforms were designed by
The
Some of the more recent uniforms of the
The grey suit
During the 19th century, women's fashions were largely dictated by Paris, while London set fashions for men. The intent of a business suit was above all to show seriousness, and to show one's position in business and society. Over the course of the century, bright colors disappeared from men's fashion, and were largely replaced by a black or dark charcoal grey
Sports
- In baseball, grey is the color typically used for road uniforms. This came about because in the 19th and early 20th century, away teams did not normally have access to laundry facilities on the road, thus stains were not noticeable on the darker grey uniforms as opposed to the white uniforms worn by the home team.
- The Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League features steel grey as its primary color and its current alternate uniforms are steel grey.
- New Caledonia national football teams have worn grey home shirts and the color is featured on its football badge.
- Georgetown University's basketball teamstraditionally wear grey uniforms at home.
Gay culture
- In gay slang, a grey queen is a gay person who works for the financial services industry (this term originates from the fact that in the 1950s, people who worked in this profession often wore grey flannel suits).[25]
Associations and symbolism
In America and Europe, grey is one of the least popular colors; In a European survey, only one percent of men said it was their favorite color, and thirteen percent called it their least favorite color; the response from women was almost the same. According to color historian Eva Heller, "grey is too weak to be considered masculine, but too menacing to be considered a feminine color. It is neither warm nor cold, neither material or spiritual. With grey, nothing seems to be decided."[26] It also denotes undefinedness and ambiguity, as in a grey area.
Grey is the color most commonly associated in many cultures with the elderly and old age, because of the association with grey hair; it symbolizes the wisdom and dignity that come with experience and age. The New York Times is sometimes called The Grey Lady because of its long history and esteemed position in American journalism.[27]
Grey is the color most often associated in Europe and America with modesty.[26]
See also
- Shades of grey
- Black
- Black-and-white
- Eigengrau
- List of colors
- Vin gris (grey wine in French)
- White
References
- ^ "W3C TR CSS3 Color Module, HTML4 color keywords". Archived from the original on November 30, 2010.
- ^ "'Gray' vs. 'Grey': What is the Difference?", Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on 8 July 2023.
- ^ Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, Third College Edition.
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, 2002.
- ^ a b Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 196
- ^ Osmond, Candace. "Gray or Grey – Are Both Correct?", Grammarist. Retrieved on 8 July 2023.
- ^ Heller, Eva, Psychologie de la Couleur, p. 224-242
- ^ Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, 1964.
- ^ a b Douglas, Harper. "gray (adj.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Philip Ball (2001), Bright Earth, Art and the Invention of Colour, pp. 214–215 (French translation).
- ISBN 978-0-306-80971-2. p. 351
- ^ Stefano Zuffi, (2012), Color in Art, pg. 310
- ^ Eva Heller, Psychologie de la couleur- effets et symboliques, pg. 236–237
- ^ John Hehr (October 15, 2002). "Why are some clouds white, while others are dark?". Research Frontiers – The home of Research at the University of Arkansas. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ "About this Reading Room | Science and Business Reading Room | Research Centers | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013.
- ^ "Why does hair turn gray?". Scientific American. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013.
- ^ "Color Palette". Archived from the original on November 5, 2019.
- ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 201; Colour Sample of Payne’s Grey: Page 117 Plate 47 Color Sample A9
- ^ "Leading nanotech experts put 'grey goo' in perspective" (Press release). Center for Responsible Nanotechnology. June 9, 2004. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2006.
- ^ Eva Heller, Psychologie de la couleur- effets et symboliques, pg. 235
- ^ "The Bonus Years: The 'grey vote' may take the cake on Tuesday". Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to Macmillan Education Customer Support". macmillaneducation.my.salesforce-sites.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012.
- ^ "Nicola Marschall: Artist of the Deep South". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Archived from the original on August 23, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
- ^ Eva Heller, Psychologie de la couleur – effets et symboliques, pg. 236
- ^ Rodgers, Bruce Gay Talk (The Queen's Vernacular): A Dictionary of Gay Slang New York:1972 Parragon Books, an imprint of G.P. Putnam’s Sons Page 99
- ^ a b Eva Heller, Psychologie de la couleur, effets et symboliques. (Pg. 226)
- ^ Eva Heller, Psychologie de la couleur- effets et symboliques, pg. 234.
Bibliography
- Heller, Eva (2009). Psychologie de la couleur – Effets et symboliques. Pyramyd (French translation). ISBN 978-2-35017-156-2.
- Zuffi, Stefano (2012). Color in Art. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-4197-0111-5.
- Gage, John (2009). La Couleur dans l'art. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-2-87811-325-9.
- Gottsegen, Mark (2006). The Painter's Handbook: A Complete Reference. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN 0-8230-3496-8.
- Varichon, Anne (2000). Couleurs - pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples. Paris: Editions du Seuil. ISBN 978-2-02-084697-4.