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.
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.
|
|
|
| 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
lightness 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
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
At right is displayed the color
gray.
The first recorded use of gray as a color name in the English language was in 700.[Maerz and Paul, p. 196]
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.
Gainsboro
At right is displayed the
web color Gainsboro
Gainsboro is a pale tone of gray named after british painter Thomas Gainsborough.
Prior to standardization as a web color, Gainsboro was included as one of the X11 color names.
Silver
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
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.
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 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 is a dark gray color, made from powdered
slate,
iron oxide and
carbon black named for
Henry Davy.
[
][
]
The first recorded use of Davy's gray as a color name in English was around 1940.[Maerz and Paul, p. 194; Color Sample of Davy's Grey: p. 117 Plate 47 Color Sample A4]
Tundora
Tundora refers to a dark shade of gray which lies between gray and black.
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
Displayed in the adjacent image is the color
xanadu.
The color "xanadu" is a greenish-gray color whose name is derived from the Philodendron.
Platinum
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.[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]
Ash gray
Displayed in the adjacent image is the color
ash gray.
The color ash gray is a representation of the color of ash; also known (from its name in Latin language) as cinereous.
The first recorded use of ash gray as a color name in English was in 1374.[Maerz and Paul, p. 189; Color Sample of Ash grey: p. 77 Plate 27 Color Sample A2]
Battleship 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
hematite paint used for rustproofing iron and steel
.
[Thornton Kay "Shining ore, blotters, black lead and battleship grey". SalvoNEWS.]
The normalized color coordinates for battleship gray are identical to old silver, first recorded as a color name in English language in 1905.[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]
Gunmetal
Gunmetal is a shade of gray that has a bluish purple tinge.
It describes the color of several metals used in industrial applications, such as tarnished
gunmetal, or
parkerized steel.
Lead gray
Lead gray is a shade of gray resembling the color of a
Lead nodule. This color is widely used as a wall paint color.
Charcoal
Charcoal is a color that is a representation of the dark gray color of
charcoal.
The first recorded use of charcoal as a color name in English was in 1606.[Maerz and Paul, p. 192; color sample: p. 117, plate 47 Color Sample A2 – Charcoal]
Stone gray
Stone gray[ Color Conversion Tool set to hex code #928E85:. encycolorpedia.com. Retrieved on 2018-12-27.] 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
blue,
, or violetish hues.
Cool gray
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: —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"[ "The Cool, Grey City of Love" by George Sterling: . Alangullette.com (11 December 1920). Retrieved on 2013-03-21.] 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 is a slightly bluish shade of gray. The first recorded use of
cadet grey as a color name in English was in 1912.
[Maerz and Paul, p. 191; Color Sample of Cadet Grey: p. 95 Plate 36 Color Sample C4]
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).["Cadets, U.S. Military Academy, 1816–1817," Military Uniforms in America, Vol II, Years of Growth 1796–1851, Company of Military Historians, 1977]
Blue-gray
Blue-gray was a
Crayola crayon color from 1958 to 1990.
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 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.[Maerz and Paul, p. 204; Color Sample of Slate Gray: p. 51 Plate 14 Color Sample A2]
Gray-green
Gray-green (also known as
grayish-green,
greenish-gray,
emerald-gray, or
green-gray) is a greenish-gray color.
Marengo
Marengo is a shade of gray (black with gray tinge) or blue colors.
Sometimes the color is described as the color of a wet asphalt.
Nardo gray
Nardo gray is a color chosen by
Audi in 2013 for their new RS7.
Since featuring this color, many other vehicle companies copied their lead and introduced a similar color availability for their cars and SUVs.
[ TouchUpDirect What is Nardo Gray?, July 11, 2022]
The color code is Y7C.[ Porsche Club of America Nardo grey]
Warm grays
Warm grays are colors that are noticeably
,
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
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.[Maerz and Paul, p. 203; Color Sample of Rose Quartz: p. 129 Plate 53 Color Sample B3]
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.[Maerz and Paul, p. 193; Color Sample of Cinereous: p. 93 Plate 35 Color Sample A3]
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.[Maerz and Paul, p. 205; Discussion of Color Taupe, p. 183; Color Sample of Taupe: p. 55 Plate 16 Color Sample A6]
Greige
This is a warm gray that combines
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
Bibliography
-
Maerz, Aloys John and Paul, M. Rea (1930) A Dictionary of Color, New York: McGraw-Hill
