"grey" in seven languages
Meaninggrey
Spanish
gris
/gɾis/
borrowed · Occitan or French gris
French
gris
/gʁi/
inherited
fem.: grise
Italian
grigio
/ˈgridʒo/
borrowed · Gallo-Romance gris (Occitan or French), with an Italian ending
Portuguese
cinza
/ˈsĩzɐ/
other source · cinza 'ash', from spoken Latin *CINISIA (from CINIS)
Invariable as a colour in Brazil; cinzento is the European Portuguese adjective.
Romanian
gri
/ɡri/
borrowed · French gris
Invariable; the older native word is cenușiu, 'ash-coloured'.
Catalan
gris
/ɡɾis/
inherited
English
grey
/ɡɹeɪ/
native English · Old English grǣg
English → ItaliangreygrigioNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: grizzled, grisaille (via French).What English and Italian share
The ancestor
Frankish *grīs‘grey’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Another Germanic colour, like white and blue: it travelled out of Gaul to Spain and Italy.
English relatives: grizzled, grisaille (via French)
Learn it
In a sentence
- esHoy el cielo está gris.
- frLe ciel est gris aujourd'hui.
- itOggi il cielo è grigio.
- ptO céu está cinza hoje.
- roCerul e gri azi.
- caAvui el cel està gris.
- enThe sky is grey today.