greige

English

WOTD – 18 September 2023

Etymology

The adjective is borrowed from French grège and Middle French grège (“of silk: raw, unfinished; of the colour of such silk, greyish-beige”, adjective), from Italian greggio (“raw, unrefined; unbleached”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Vulgar Latin *gregius (as in lana *gregia (“untreated wool as obtained from the flock”)), from grex (“flock (of sheep, etc.)”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“flock, herd; to gather”).

The noun is borrowed from French grège and Middle French grège (“raw or unfinished silk; the colour of such silk, greyish-beige”, noun), from Italian greggio: see above.

The spelling of the word is probably influenced by beige, likely because it was thought to be a blend of grey and beige.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: grāzh, IPA^(key): /ɡɹeɪʒ/, /ɡɹɛʒ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡɹeɪʒ/, /ɡɹɛʒ/, /ɡɹeɪ/
• Homophones: gray, grey (one GA pronunciation)
• Rhymes: -eɪʒ, -ɛʒ, -eɪ

Adjective

greige (not comparable)

1. (textiles) Of clothing, textiles, etc.: neither bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed; unfinished.

   The rolls of greige cloth sat on the factory floor waiting to be printed.

2. Of a colour like that of unbleached or undyed fabric, between grey and beige.
   • 2009 June 29, Caitlin Moran, “Sorry Star Wars fans, but Ghostbusters is the best film ever made”, in The Times‎^[1], London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-04-11:

     To those who still deludedly think they prefer Star Wars over Ghostbusters, all I need to ask you is this: you don't really want to be a Jedi, do you? In a greige cowl, getting off with your sister, without a single gag across three films?

Alternative forms

• grege, grège

Derived terms

• greige goods

Translations

of clothing, textiles, etc.: neither bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed — see also unfinished

• Finnish: raaka (fi)
• French: grège (fr)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

of a colour like that of unbleached or undyed fabric, between grey and beige

• Finnish: harmaanruskea (fi)
• French: grège (fr)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

Noun

greige (countable and uncountable, plural greiges)

1. A colour like that of unbleached or undyed fabric between grey and beige, closely akin to taupe.

   greige:  

   • 1943, S[idney] J[oseph] Perelman, “Bend Down, Sister”, in The Dream Department, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →OCLC, page 74:

     Brilliant, sparkling reds will complement the bright, new beauty of Fall fashions and accent the subtle reserve of pale Priority beiges and greiges.

   • 1959, Paint, Oil and Chemical Review, volume 122, Chicago, Ill.: Trade Review Co., →OCLC, page 12, column 2:

     The rise of the neutral family of greige colors has put the decorating emphasis squarely on accents. The August issue of Better Homes & Gardens, for example, features an article showing which accents look best with greiges and other popular colors.

   • 2005 September, Lauri Ward, “Views on Retirement: Moving from Coast to Coast”, in Home Therapy: Fast, Easy, Affordable Makeovers (A Perigee Book), Perigee trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Group, published September 2006, →ISBN, page 256:

     To accessorize the server, we arranged a grouping of mahogany candlesticks in a variety of interesting shapes, a small greige-colored vase, and a platter that incorporates the colors of the candlesticks as well as the greige of the vase.

   • 2022 May 25, Elle Hunt, “It’s not beige, it’s not grey: it’s greige – and it’s why all our houses look the same”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-08:

     Canadian colour consultants The Paint People recently reached the same conclusion, declaring on YouTube “the death of greige: a paint colour category that has absolutely dominated interior design for well over a decade”.

2. (textiles, archaic) Clothing, textiles, etc., which have neither been bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed; greige goods.

   Synonyms: gray goods, grey goods

Alternative forms

• grege, grège

Translations

colour like that of unbleached or undyed fabric between grey and beige

• Finnish: harmaanruskea (fi)
• French: grège (fr)
• Macedonian: си́вобеж m (sívobež)

clothing, textiles, etc., which have neither been bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed — see greige goods

Further reading

• greige goods on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “greige, n. and adj.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Stuart Berg Flexner, editor in chief, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, 1993, →ISBN.
• “greige, adj. and n.”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• Geiger, Reggie, eggier, reggie