Found 2 items, similar to grayback.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: grayback 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]
English → English (gcide) Definition: grayback 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 (Zo["o]l.), the chickara. Gray cobalt (Min.), smaltite. Gray copper (Min.), tetrahedrite. Gray duck (Zo["o]l.), the gadwall; also applied to the female mallard. Gray falcon (Zo["o]l.) the peregrine falcon. Gray Friar. See Franciscan, and Friar. Gray hen (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Zo["o]l.) 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 (Zo["o]l.), the European tawny or brown owl (Syrnium aluco). The great gray owl (Ulula cinerea) inhabits arctic America. Gray parrot (Zo["o]l.), an African parrot (Psittacus erithacus ), very commonly domesticated, and noted for its aptness in learning to talk. Also called jako. Gray pike. (Zo["o]l.) See Sauger. Gray snapper (Zo["o]l.), a Florida fish; the sea lawyer. See Snapper. Gray snipe (Zo["o]l.), the dowitcher in winter plumage. Gray whale (Zo["o]l.), 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] Gray whale \Gray whale\ (Zo["o]l.), 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] Redhead \Red"head`\ (-h?d`), n. 1. A person having red hair. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo["o]l.) (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] Dowitcher \Dow"itch*er\, n. (Zo["o]l.) The red-breasted or gray snipe (Macrorhamphus griseus); -- called also brownback, and grayback. [1913 Webster]