iron-greyiron-grayadj.n.

Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Low German īsergrā , Old High German īsengrā (Middle High German īsengrā , German eisengrau ), Old Icelandic jarngrár < the Germanic base of iron n.¹ + the Germanic base of grey adj.In Old English the compound is attested only in glosses rendering classical Latin ferrūgo , noun, lit. ‘iron rust’ (see ferruginous adj.), denoting a shade of colour apparently ranging between reddish-purple and near-black, and its derivative ferrūgineus , adjective (see ferrugineous adj.); in post-classical Latin these colour terms were sometimes interpreted in the sense ‘the colour of iron’ (after classical Latin ferrum : see ferro- comb. form) and probably hence ‘grey’ (from c800 in British sources; compare quot. eOE at sense B. 1). In glosses such as that in quot. OE at sense A., it is not entirely clear whether the Old English word is to be regarded as an alternative gloss to words such as ōmig ‘rusty, rust-coloured’ or as partly synonymous with them; compare discussion of early uses of grey at grey adj. 1a. Currency in early Middle English is reflected by the byname or surname Yrengrai (1193), perhaps denoting a person with dark grey hair (compare sense A.).