Greige
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A colour like that of unbleached or undyed fabric between grey and beige, closely akin to taupe. countable, uncountable
"Brilliant, sparkling reds will complement the bright, new beauty of Fall fashions and accent the subtle reserve of pale Priority beiges and greiges."
- 2 Clothing, textiles, etc., which have neither been bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed; greige goods. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 1 Of clothing, textiles, etc.: neither bleached nor dyed, nor otherwise fully processed; unfinished. not-comparable
"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. not-comparable
"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?"
Example
More examples"The rolls of greige cloth sat on the factory floor waiting to be printed."
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.