Someone on Twitter that I follow mentioned the allegedly “British” spelling of the word “grey”. I love discussing the word “grey” because it’s one of those beautifully awkward words that has morphed its way through our meat grinder of a language, and one of the few words where I have a specific personal set of guidelines that I follow for its usage.
In Old English, “grey” was actually written grǣg, using the terribly underutilized grapheme “æ“, which essentially amounts to a short “a” sound (as in “bat”). Over time, as the æ fell out of fashion due to typesetters breaking their machines attempting to set both the a and e so close in proximity to each other (I just made that up — it’s not actually true, but wouldn’t it be cool if it were?), most of the æ sounds came to be spelled with an “e” in British English, and alternatively, an “a” in the other non-English Germanic language origin variants.
Today, you could poll a thousand Americans and the divergence between using “grey” versus “gray” would likely be nearly 50/50. We have no real attachment to either spelling, and the “ay” and “ey” endings for any short word have very little variation (for instance: day, play, and stay all rhyme with whey, hey, and convey). So, for all intents and purposes, there really is no “preferred spelling” of grey. Or gray. You can theoretically use either one if you so desire.
My personal philosophy on the word “grey” is simple: I spell it differently based purely on my mood. The “e” spelling to me evokes a darker, more depressing aesthetic. “Grey” with an “e” is the traditional gloomy, overcast day, where you beg the sun to burn through the clouds and brighten your dismal countenance. “Gray” with an “a” on the other hand, feels light and whimsical. It’s the lovable old coot down the street, the amusing forgetful elephant, and the adorable cartoon mouse. There’s definitely a distinct emotional attachment to each spelling that is independent of the way the word sounds when spoken. Being a writer, I can appreciate that.
Okay, I think I’ve over-analyzed this enough.
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