græg

græg is a historical spelling of the color gray found in Old English texts. It reflects an early stage of the English language before modern standardizations of spelling and orthography. In contemporary usage, the color is written as gray or grey, while græg appears only in older manuscripts and scholarly discussion.

Etymology and cognates are typical of the broader Germanic family. Linguists generally connect græg to a Proto-Germanic root that also yields the modern terms for gray in other Germanic languages. Related forms include the German grau and the Dutch grijs, among others, though exact spellings and developments vary by language. The Old English form græg illustrates how the word’s pronunciation and spelling shifted over time in English.

Usage in Old English literature often described objects or phenomena with color, such as hair, skies, or animals. The form græg could appear alongside other historical spellings, reflecting the more fluid and regionally varied orthography of the period. As English spelling became standardized, græg fell out of use, giving way to gray in American English and grey in British English.

In modern references, græg is primarily of interest to students of historical linguistics, Old English texts, and the history of color terms. It serves as an example of how a simple color word can illuminate broader changes in orthography, pronunciation, and standardization across the Germanic languages.