Etymology
First attested as late OE
grīg-hund, and the OE and ON forms (which represent the only known analogues) are usually regarded as cognates. Direct Norse derivation has also been proposed (e.g. Skeat 1892: 478), but the word is recorded in OE in
ClGl2, and its form <grig> looks more likely to represent the native reflex of the supposed PGmc
*grawja- or
*grauja-, i.e. (early) WS
*grīeg, than it does a direct loan from a VAN
*grøy (though note also the spelling <greihund> in
Quadr). The etymological connections of this form are difficult to trace: there have been attempts to link it directly or indirectly to ON
grár, OE
grǣg etc. (PGmc
*grēwa-) ‘grey’ (so e.g. Bj., de Vries,
AEW), but several authorities are dubious about this (so
OED, Mag., Orel, and Kroonen ); an alternative is to compare OHG
griuna ‘cruelty’ (Mag.).
PGmc Ancestor
*grawja- or *grauja-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
grey 'bitch', grey-hundr 'greyhound'
(ONP grey-hundr (sb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Icel grey
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
BBB1