Grayback

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gray \Gray\ (gr[=a]), a. [Compar. {Grayer}; superl. {Grayest}.]
     [OE. gray, grey, AS. gr[=ae]g, gr[=e]g; akin to D. graauw,
     OHG. gr[=a]o, G. grau, Dan. graa, Sw. gr[*a], Icel. gr[=a]r.]
     [Written also {grey}.]
     1. any color of neutral hue between white and black; white
        mixed with black, as the color of pepper and salt, or of


        ashes, or of hair whitened by age; sometimes, a dark mixed
        color; as, the soft gray eye of a dove.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              These gray and dun colors may be also produced by
              mixing whites and blacks.             --Sir I.
                                                    Newton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Gray-haired; gray-headed; of a gray color; hoary.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Old; mature; as, gray experience. -- Ames.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. gloomy; dismal.
        [PJC]
  
     {Gray antimony} (Min.), stibnite.
  
     {Gray buck} (Zool.), the chickara.
  
     {Gray cobalt} (Min.), smaltite.
  
     {Gray copper} (Min.), tetrahedrite.
  
     {Gray duck} (Zool.), the gadwall; also applied to the female
        mallard.
  
     {Gray falcon} (Zool.) the peregrine falcon.
  
     {Gray Friar}. See {Franciscan}, and {Friar}.
  
     {Gray hen} (Zool.), the female of the blackcock or black
        grouse. See {Heath grouse}.
  
     {Gray mill} or {Gray millet} (Bot.), a name of several plants
        of the genus {Lithospermum}; gromwell.
  
     {Gray mullet} (Zool.) any one of the numerous species of the
        genus {Mugil}, or family {Mugilid[ae]}, found both in the
        Old World and America; as the European species
        ({Mugilid[ae] capito}, and {Mugilid[ae] auratus}), the
        American striped mullet ({Mugilid[ae] albula}), and the
        white or silver mullet ({Mugilid[ae] Braziliensis}). See
        {Mullet}.
  
     {Gray owl} (Zool.), the European tawny or brown owl ({Syrnium
        aluco}). The great gray owl ({Ulula cinerea}) inhabits
        arctic America.
  
     {Gray parrot} (Zool.), an African parrot ({Psittacus
        erithacus}), very commonly domesticated, and noted for its
        aptness in learning to talk. Also called {jako}.
  
     {Gray pike}. (Zool.) See {Sauger}.
  
     {Gray snapper} (Zool.), a Florida fish; the sea lawyer. See
        {Snapper}.
  
     {Gray snipe} (Zool.), the dowitcher in winter plumage.
  
     {Gray whale} (Zool.), a rather large and swift whale of the
        northern Pacific ({Eschrichtius robustus}, formerly
        {Rhachianectes glaucus}), having short jaws and no dorsal
        fin. It grows to a length of 50 feet (someimes 60 feet).
        It was formerly taken in large numbers in the bays of
        California, and is now rare; -- called also {grayback},
        {devilfish}, and {hardhead}. It lives up to 50 or 60 years
        and adults weigh from 20 to 40 tons.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Grayback \Gray"back`\, n. (Zool.)
     (a) The California gray whale.
     (b) The redbreasted sandpiper or knot.
     (c) The dowitcher.
     (d) The body louse.
         [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gray whale \Gray whale\ (Zool.),
     a rather large and swift baleen whale of the northern Pacific
     ({Eschrichtius robustus}, formerly {Rhachianectes glaucus}),
     having short jaws and no dorsal fin; -- called also
     {grayback}, {devilfish}, and {hardhead}. It grows to a length
     of 50 feet (sometimes 60 feet). It was formerly taken in
     large numbers in the bays of California, and is now rare. It
     lives up to 50 or 60 years and adults weigh from 20 to 40
     tons.
     [1913 Webster + PJC]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Redhead \Red"head`\ (-h?d`), n.
     1. A person having red hair.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.)
        (a) An American duck ({Aythya Americana}) highly esteemed
            as a game bird. It is closely allied to the
            canvasback, but is smaller and its head brighter red.
            Called also {red-headed duck}. {American poachard},
            {grayback}, and {fall duck}. See Illust. under
            {Poachard}.
        (b) The red-headed woodpecker. See {Woodpecker}.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Bot.) A kind of milkweed ({Asclepias Curassavica}) with
        red flowers. It is used in medicine.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Dowitcher \Dow"itch*er\, n. (Zool.)
     The red-breasted or gray snipe ({Macrorhamphus griseus}); --
     called also {brownback}, and {grayback}.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  grayback
       n 1: `johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers
            by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War;
            `grayback' derived from their gray Confederate uniforms
            [syn: {Rebel}, {Reb}, {Johnny Reb}, {Johnny}]
       2: a dowitcher with a gray back [syn: {Limnodromus griseus}]
       3: a sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and winters in the
          southern hemisphere [syn: {knot}, {Calidris canutus}]