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Why does gray have two spellings? |
If it’s a really cloudy day, would you see a gray sky or a grey one? It could be either! Gray/grey is an English word with two accepted spellings. Which one you use is up to you, but for the most part, English-speakers in the United States use G-R-A-Y to spell the color. That’s the spelling you’re most likely to find written on the side of a crayon or marker.
G-R-E-Y is the spelling that people tend to use in the United Kingdom (which England is a part of) and in other English speaking countries. Languages are always changing, so it’s not too much of a surprise that, as English grew and changed on its own in the United States, there were some very unique spelling changes that happened. Grey became gray. Colour became color. Theatre became theater.
Often, spelling changes happen to make spelling simpler, but there isn’t a clear reason why G-R-A-Y became a spelling, even though lots of people have studied it!
Sounds of Color!
What do the colors orange, purple, and silver have in common? They don’t rhyme with any other words! Can you use them in a poem? It would be tricky, but your poem doesn’t necessarily have to rhyme!
What about other colors? Can you think of rhymes for them? Green bean? Red head? What about yellow? Or pink? Or blue? Try using those in a poem. Chances are it will be a little easier!
