Shades of gray
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.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 is left blank for achromatic colors.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.Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light.Black is the darkest possible color. While this platonic ideal black is never found with actual pigments or other coloring, sufficiently dark items are generally referred to as "black".
Achromatic grays
Achromatic grays are colors in which the RGB values are exactly equal. Since achromatic grays have no hue, the hue code 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.Gainsboro
At right is displayed the web color GainsboroGainsboro is a pale tone of gray.
Prior to standardization as a web color, Gainsboro was included as one of the X11 color names. It was, however, absent from the original 1987 version of the list, but present in Paul Raveling's version which added, amongst other things, "ight and off-white colors, copied from several Sinclair Paints color samples".
Light gray
At right is displayed the web color light graySilver
Displayed at right is the web color silverThis color is a representation of the color of the metal silver
ingot
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 in the Guía de coloraciones by Rosa Gallego andJuan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.
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.
This tone of gray is universally used as the standard for gray because it is that tone of gray which is halfway between white and black.
Dim gray
At right is displayed the web color dim grayThis color is a dark tone of gray.
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.
Jet
The color jet is displayed at rightThe color jet is a representation of the color of the mineraloid jet.
The first recorded use of jet as a color name in English was in 1450.
Middle grays
A middle gray is a tone that is in some sense about halfway between black and white. See the main article for more in-depth information.| Middle gray as defined by | Relative whiteness | sRGB brightness | CIELAB lightness | gamma correction | RGB value for sRGB monitors | Appearance if viewed in sRGB |
| Geomean of 60:1 | 12.91% | 39.46% | 42.63% | 2.95 | rgb or #656565 | |
| L*a*b | 18.42% | 46.63% | 50.00% | 2.44 | rgb or #777777 | |
| 18% gray card | 20.00% | 48.45% | 51.84% | 2.32 | rgb or #7C7C7C | |
| sRGB | 21.40% | 50.00% | 53.39% | 2.22 | rgb or #808080 | |
| Mac, pre-OS X 10.6 | 28.72% | 57.23% | 60.53% | 1.80 | rgb or #929292 | |
| Absolute whiteness | 50.00% | 73.54% | 76.07% | 1.00 | rgb or #BCBCBC |
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 at right is the color xanaduThe 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.
crystals
Ash gray
Displayed at right is the color ash grayThe 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.
Battleship gray
The color battleship gray is displayed at right. 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.Gunmetal
The color gunmetal is displayed on the rightGunmetal may actually refer to a shade of gray that has a bluish purple tinge.
Nickel
Nickel is a color that resembles the metal nickel. The coins commonly called "nickels" in the United States are a slightly lighter shade of this color.slab
This is supposed to be a metallic color; however, there is no mechanism for displaying metallic colors on a flat computer screen.
Charcoal
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.
Stone gray
Stone gray 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, 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 at the following website: —The ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names, 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 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.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.
Blue-gray
Blue-gray was a Crayola crayon color from 1958 to 1990.Glaucous
Glaucous 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, glaucous-winged gull, glaucous macaw, and glaucous tanager.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.
Gray-green
Gray-green is a greenish-gray color.Marengo
Marengo is a shade of gray or blue colors. 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 is 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.Puce
Puce is the French word for flea.Puce has been in use as a color name in French since the 14th century.
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.
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.The first recorded use of cinereous as a color name in English was in 1661.
Rocket metallic
Displayed at right is the color rocket metallic.Rocket metallic is a purplish tone of gray.
This is supposed to be a metallic color; however, there is no mechanism for displaying metallic colors on a flat computer screen.
Rocket metallic is one of the colors on the , a color list widely popular in Australia and New Zealand. The color "rocket metallic" was formulated in 1999.
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.