Shades of gray

Short description: Variations of the color gray

Gray/Grey

Common connotations
pessimism, depression, boredom, neutrality, undefinedness, old age, contentment and elegance
Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #808080
Source| HTML/CSS[1]

Variations of gray or grey include achromatic grayscale shades, which lie exactly between white and black, and nearby colors with low colorfulness. A selection of a number of these various colors is shown below.

## Contents

* 1 Chart of computer web color grays
* 2 White and black
* 2.1 White
* 3 Achromatic grays
* 3.1 Gray
* 3.2 Gainsboro
* 3.3 Silver
* 3.4 Medium gray
* 3.5 Spanish gray
* 3.6 Davy's gray
* 4 Off-grays
* 4.1 Xanadu
* 4.2 Platinum
* 4.3 Ash gray
* 4.4 Battleship gray
* 4.5 Gunmetal
* 4.6 Charcoal
* 4.7 Stone gray
* 5 Cool grays
* 5.1 Cool gray
* 5.2 Cadet gray
* 5.3 Blue-gray
* 5.4 Glaucous
* 5.5 Slate gray
* 5.6 Gray-green
* 5.7 Marengo
* 6 Warm grays
* 6.1 Rose quartz
* 6.2 Cinereous
* 6.3 Taupe
* 6.4 Greige
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Bibliography

## Chart of computer web color grays

Below is a chart showing the computer web color grays. An achromatic gray is a gray color in which the red, green, and blue codes are exactly equal. The web colors gray, gainsboro, light gray, dark gray, and dim gray are all achromatic colors. A chromatic gray is a gray color in which the red, green, and blue codes are not exactly equal, but are close to each other, which is what makes it a shade of gray.

HTML color name  | Sample  | Hex triplet

|
|

By name | By hex triplet
gainsboro  |  |  | #DCDCDC
lightgray  |  |  | #D3D3D3
silver  |  |  | #C0C0C0
darkgray  |  |  | #A9A9A9
gray  |  |  | #808080
dimgray  |  |  | #696969
lightslategray  |  |  | #778899
slategray  |  |  | #708090
darkslategray  |  |  | #2F4F4F

## White and black

The colors white and black are not usually thought of as shades of gray, but they can be thought of as shades of achromatic gray, as both contain equal amounts of red, blue and green. White is at the extreme upper end of the achromatic value scale and black is at the extreme lower end of the achromatic value scale, with all the colors normally considered tones of achromatic gray colors in between. Since achromatic colors have no hue, the hue code (h code) is left blank for achromatic colors (usually marked as a dash).

### White

Main page: White
White

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #FFFFFF
Source| By definition

White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness. White is the lightest possible color.

## Achromatic grays

Achromatic grays are colors in which the RGB (red, green, and blue) values are exactly equal. Since achromatic grays have no hue, the hue code (the h in the hsv values of the color) is indicated with a dash. Achromatic grays are the axis of the color sphere, with white at the north pole and black at the south pole of the color sphere. The various tones of achromatic gray are along the axis of the color sphere from white at the top of the axis to black at the bottom of the axis.

### Gray

Gray/Grey

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #808080
Source| HTML/CSS[1]
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Medium gray

At right is displayed the color gray.

The first recorded use of gray as a color name in the English language was in 700.[2]

This tone of gray (HTML gray) is universally used as the standard for gray because it is that tone of gray which is halfway between white and black.[citation needed]

### Gainsboro

Gainsboro

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #DCDCDC
Source| X11
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Greenish gray

At right is displayed the web color Gainsboro

Gainsboro is a pale tone of gray.

Prior to standardization as a web color, Gainsboro was included as one of the X11 color names.[3] It was, however, absent from the original 1987 version of the list,[4] but present in Paul Raveling's version[5] which added, amongst other things, "[l]ight and off-white colors, copied from several Sinclair Paints color samples".[6]

### Silver

Silver

Silver ingots

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #C0C0C0
Source| HTML/CSS[1]
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Light gray

Main page: Silver (color)

Displayed at right is the web color silver

This color is a representation of the color of the metal silver.

This is supposed to be a metallic color; however, there is no mechanism for displaying metallic colors on a flat computer screen.

### Medium gray

Medium gray

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #BEBEBE
Source| X11
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Light gray

At right is displayed the color medium gray, or gray in the X11 color names, which is lighter than the HTML/CSS gray shown below. The coordinates in the X11 were set at 190 to avoid gray being displayed as white on 2-bit grayscale displays.[7]

See the chart Color names that clash between X11 and HTML/CSS in the X11 color names article to see those colors which are different in HTML/CSS and X11.

### Spanish gray

Spanish gray

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #989898
Source| Gallego and Sanz[8]
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Medium gray

Spanish gray is the color that is called gris (gray in Spanish) in the Guía de coloraciones (Guide to colorations) by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.

### Davy's gray

Davy's gray

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #555555
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Dark gray

Davy's gray is a dark gray color, made from powdered slate, iron oxide and carbon black named for Henry Davy.[9][10]

The first recorded use of Davy’s gray as a color name in English was around 1940.[11][12]

## Off-grays

Off-grays are colors that are very close to achromatic grays, but whose red, green, and blue color codes are not exactly equal.

### Xanadu

Xanadu

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #738678
Source| Xona.com color list, in turn from the 2001 Resene RGB Values List
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Moderate green

Displayed in the adjacent image is the color xanadu.

The color "xanadu" is a greenish-gray color whose name is derived from the Philodendron.[13] The color ultimately comes from the 2001 Resene RGB Values List. [14]

### Platinum

Main page: Platinum (color)
Platinum

Platinum crystals

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #E5E4E2
Source| Maerz and Paul[15]
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Yellowish white

Platinum is a color that is the metallic tint of pale grayish-white resembling the metal platinum.

This is supposed to be a metallic color; however, there is no mechanism for displaying metallic colors on a flat computer screen.

The first recorded use of platinum as a color name in English was in 1918.[16]

### Ash gray

Ash gray

Wood ash from a campfire

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #B2BEB5
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Pale green

Displayed in the adjacent image is the color ash gray.

The color ash gray is a representation of the color of ash.

The first recorded use of ash gray as a color name in English was in 1374.[17]

### Battleship gray

Battleship gray

The battleship USS Wisconsin

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #848482
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Medium gray

The color battleship gray is displayed in the adjacent image. It is so called because the color is the shade of gray from the specular micaceous hematite paint used for rustproofing iron and steel battleships.[18]

The normalized color coordinates for battleship gray are identical to old silver, first recorded as a color name in English in 1905.[19]

### Gunmetal

Gunmetal

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #2A3439
Source| Encycolorpedia
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Blackish green

Gunmetal is a shade of gray that has a bluish purple tinge.[20] It describes the color of several metals used in industrial applications, such as tarnished gunmetal, or parkerized steel.

Alpha Industries ® CWU-Bomberjacket CWU 45(N) in gunmetal grey

### Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #36454F
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Dark grayish blue

Charcoal is a color that is a representation of the dark gray color of burned wood.

The first recorded use of charcoal as a color name in English was in 1606.[21]

### Stone gray

Stone gray

Indian 500 rupee note, obverse and reverse

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #928E85
Source| List of RAL colors
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Light grayish olive

Stone gray[22] is a color represented in the list of RAL classic colors from RAL colour standard. This is the main color on the Indian 500-rupee note.

## Cool grays

Cool grays have noticeably bluish, greenish, or violetish hues.

### Cool gray

Cool gray

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #9090C0
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Light purplish blue

Cool gray, is a medium light color gray mixed with the color blue.

This color is a dull shade of blue-gray.

This color is identical with color sample No. 203 (identified as gray blue) at the following website: http://tx4.us/nbs/nbs-g.htm—The ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Colo(u)r Names (1955), a website for stamp collectors to evaluate the colors of their stamps.

Poet George Sterling once wrote a poem calling San Francisco the "cool grey city of love"[23] The phrase cool grey as applied to San Francisco refers to the frequent fogs from the Pacific Ocean that envelop the city.

### Cadet gray

Cadet gray

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #91A3B0
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Grayish blue

Cadet gray is a slightly bluish shade of gray. The first recorded use of cadet grey as a color name in English was in 1912.[24]

Before 1912, the word cadet gray was used as a name for a type of military issue uniforms. Most famously, it was the color of the uniforms of the Confederate Army. In 1815, it had earlier become the color of the uniforms of the United States Military Academy (West Point).[25]

### Blue-gray

Blue-gray

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #6699CC
Source| Crayola
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Light blue

Main page: Blue-gray

Blue-gray was a Crayola crayon color from 1958 to 1990.

### Glaucous

Glaucous

Glaucous gull

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #6082B6
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Moderate blue

Main page: Glaucous

Glaucous (from the Latin glaucus, meaning "bluish-gray", from the Greek glaukos) is used to describe the pale gray or blue appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens), glaucous macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus), and glaucous tanager (Thraupis glaucocolpa).

### Slate gray

Slate gray

Samples of slate

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #708090
Source| X11
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Grayish blue

Main page: Slate gray

Slate gray is a gray color with a slight azure tinge that is a representation of the average color of the material slate.

The first recorded use of slate gray as a color name in English was in 1705.[26]

### Gray-green

Gray-green

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #5E716A
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Grayish green

Gray-green (also known as grayish-green, greenish-gray, emerald-gray, or green-gray) is a greenish-gray color.

### Marengo

Marengo

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #4C5866
Source| [27][28]
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Grayish blue

Main page: Marengo (color)

Marengo is a shade of gray (black with gray tinge) or blue colors.[29][30] Sometimes the color is described as the color of a wet asphalt.

## Warm grays

Warm grays are colors that are noticeably brownish, pinkish grays, or reddish purple grays. The color brown is itself a dark shade of orange. Brown colors also include dark shades of rose, red, and amber. Pink colors include light tones of rose, red, and orange. These tones of pink become warm grays when they are mixed with gray.

### Rose quartz

Rose quartz

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #AA98A9
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Pale purple

There is a grayish tone of rose called rose quartz.

The first recorded use of rose quartz as a color name in English was in 1926.[31]

Rose quartz crystals on muscovite

### Cinereous

Cinereous

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #98817B
Source| Maerz and Paul[32]
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Light grayish brown

Main page: Cinereous

Cinereous is a color, ashy gray in appearance, either consisting of or resembling ashes, or a gray color tinged with coppery brown. It is derived from the Latin cinereous, from cinis (ashes).

The first recorded use of cinereous as a color name in English was in 1661.[33]

### Taupe

Taupe

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #483C32
Source| ISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Dark grayish yellowish brown

Main page: Taupe

The color displayed at right matches the color sample called taupe referenced below in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color, the world standard for color terms before the invention of computers. However, the word taupe may often be used to refer to lighter shades of taupe today, and therefore another name for this color is dark taupe.

The first use of taupe as a color name in English was in the early 19th century.[34]

### Greige

Greige

Color coordinates
Hex triplet| #CCC2BA
Source| TheColorsMeaning
ISCC–NBS descriptor| Reddish Gray

This is a warm gray that combines beige beige and gray. Its name is believed to have originated from the French word "gris," meaning gray.

Georgio Armani pioneered its use in fashion in 1975.

## See also

* Eigengrau
* Feldgrau
* Payne's gray
* Shades of black
* Shades of white

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "W3C TR CSS3 Color Module, HTML4 color keywords". W3.org. http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-color/#html4.
2. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 196
3. ↑ "rgb.txt". X colorname to RGB mapping database. X.Org Foundation. https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/rgb/tree/rgb.txt.
4. ↑ "others/old-rgb.txt". X colorname to RGB mapping database. X.Org Foundation. https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/rgb/tree/others/old-rgb.txt.
5. ↑ "others/raveling.txt". X colorname to RGB mapping database. X.Org Foundation. https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/rgb/tree/others/raveling.txt.
6. ↑ "others/README". X colorname to RGB mapping database. X.Org Foundation. https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/rgb/tree/others/README.
7. ↑ Gildea, Stephen (13 May 1991). "change grey from 192 to 190 so less likely to be mapped to white on a 2-bit StaticGray visual". X consortium. http://cgit.freedesktop.org/~alanc/xc-historical/commit/xc/programs/rgb?id=5f5031718d4154a83454995fb6805743c0437fcf.
8. ↑ Gallego, Rosa; Sanz, Juan Carlos (2005). Guía de coloraciones (Gallego, Rosa; Sanz, Juan Carlos (2005). Guide to Colorations) Madrid: H. Blume. ISBN:84-89840-31-8
9. ↑ Paterson, Ian (2003), A Dictionary of Colour (1st paperback ed.), London: Thorogood (published 2004), p. 134, ISBN 1-85418-375-3, OCLC 60411025
10. ↑ Eastaugh, Nicholas; Walsh, Valentine; Chaplin, Tracey; Siddall, Ruth (2004), Pigment Compendium: A Dictionary of Historical Pigments, Butterworth-Heinemann, p. 139, ISBN 978-0-7506-5749-5, OCLC 56444720
11. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 194; Color Sample of Davy’s Grey: p. 117 Plate 47 Color Sample A4
12. ↑ Davy's gray. Google Ngram Viewer
13. ↑ "11 Colors You've Probably Never Heard Of". mentalfloss.com. 13 October 2015. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53121/11-colors-youve-probably-never-heard.
14. ↑ "Color List". Xona Games. 27 July 2023. https://xona.com/misc/colorlist/.
15. ↑ The color displayed in the color box above matches the color called platinum in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul. A Dictionary of Color. New York: McGraw-Hill; the color platinum is displayed on page 113, Plate 45, Color Sample A3.
16. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York: 1930 McGraw-Hill p. 202; Color Sample of Platinum: p. 113 Plate 45 Color Sample A3
17. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 189; Color Sample of Ash grey: p. 77 Plate 27 Color Sample A2
18. ↑ Thornton Kay "Shining ore, blotters, black lead and battleship grey". SalvoNEWS.
19. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill p. 189; Color Sample of Old Silver: p. 99 Plate 38 Color Sample A1
20. ↑ "Definition: Gunmetal". Dictionary.com. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/gunmetal.
21. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 192; color sample: p. 117, plate 47 Color Sample A2 – Charcoal
22. ↑ Color Conversion Tool set to hex code #928E85:. encycolorpedia.com. Retrieved on 2018-12-27.
23. ↑ "The Cool, Grey City of Love" by George Sterling: . Alangullette.com (11 December 1920). Retrieved on 2013-03-21.
24. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 191; Color Sample of Cadet Grey: p. 95 Plate 36 Color Sample C4
25. ↑ "Cadets, U.S. Military Academy, 1816–1817," Military Uniforms in America, Vol II, Years of Growth 1796–1851, Company of Military Historians, 1977
26. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 204; Color Sample of Slate Gray: p. 51 Plate 14 Color Sample A2
27. ↑ "#4c5866 (Маренго)" (in ru). colors.aeio.ru. http://colors.aeio.ru/color/4c5866.
28. ↑ "Маренго" (in ru). whoyougle.ru. http://whoyougle.ru/services/color/4C5866.
29. ↑ "Marengo". silestoneusa.com. http://www.silestoneusa.com/color/marengo/.
30. ↑ "Marengo". http://www.colourlovers.com/color/5B5D74/Marengo.
31. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 203; Color Sample of Rose Quartz: p. 129 Plate 53 Color Sample B3
32. ↑ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Color Sample of Cinereous: p. 93 Plate 35 Color Sample A3
33. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 193; Color Sample of Cinereous: p. 93 Plate 35 Color Sample A3
34. ↑ Maerz and Paul, p. 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, p. 183; Color Sample of Taupe: p. 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A6

## Bibliography

* Maerz, Aloys John and Paul, M. Rea (1930) A Dictionary of Color, New York: McGraw-Hill

* v
* t
* e

Shades of gray

| Ash gray| Battleship gray| Blue-gray| Cadet gray| Charcoal| Cinerous| Cool gray| Davy's gray| Dim gray| Eigengrau

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|
|
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|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Feldgrau| Gray| Gunmetal| Jet| Marengo| Payne's gray| Platinum| Silver| Slate gray| Taupe
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Taupe brown| Rose quartz| Taupe gray| Timberwolf| White smoke
|  |  |  |

A typical sample is shown for each name; a range of color-variations is commonly associated with each color-name.

* v
* t
* e

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Color science|

| Color physics|

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