gray or grey

Friday, May 15, 2009

According to dictionary.com (and as long as you're talking about the color), whether you spell it with an "a" or an "e" makes no difference; they're interchangeable.

That said, most people spell it "gray," while "grey" is most commonly seen as a surname, especially when the first name is some variant of "ane" -- Anne Grey, Jane Grey, Zane Grey, etc.

HOWEVER, at least according to Wikipedia, there is a distinction: "Grey" is the proper spelling in British and Canadian English, while "gray" is the proper spelling in American English.

And for no particular reason, the entry usefully points out:

Non-cognate greyhound is never grayhound.