On Tue, Nov 25, 2003 at 01:59:20AM -0500, David Yitzchak Cohen wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 24, 2003 at 10:38:18PM +1030, David Purton wrote:
> > On Sun, Nov 23, 2003 at 06:22:18PM -0500, David Yitzchak Cohen wrote:
> > > On Sun, Nov 23, 2003 at 04:32:40PM +1030, David Purton wrote:
> > >
> > > > Even the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives both as valid
> > > > variants.
> > >
> > > Is that the American version, or the British version, just out of
> > > curiosity?
> >
> > English version
>
> Well, all that tells us is that in England, they've finally given up
> and allowed the other (gray, apparenly, would be the American Invasion).
> The American Oxford, though, should tell us whether the British Invasion
> was staved off here, or whether everybody's just given up on trying to
> trace the origins of the two spellings regionally.
>
Not in this case - the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives this:
"Both spellings have analogies in two words in general use derived
from Old English forms of graeg...; the practice of printing houses is
various and individuals tend to use the variations with a difference
of implication..."
These are some of the quotes given:
"The night is chill, the cload is gray" COLERIDGE (1772-1834)
"The grass path grey with dew" BROWNING (1812-89)
"Grey is composed only of black and white; the term gray is applied to
any broken colour of cool hue and therefore belongs to the class of
chromatic colours" 1885
"It was the Friar of orders gray" SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
"My horse, gray Capilet" SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
"I... with grey haires and bruise of many daies, Do challenge thee"
SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
"With kamuse nose and even greye asd glas" CHAUCER (1340?-1400)
Judging from how the dictionary is set out, I think OUP prefers grey.
cheers
dc
--
David Purton
dcpurton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to
strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
2 Chronicles 16:9a
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