Campari & White Wine Cocktail: Bicicletta

"Bicicletta" is Italian for "bicycle." Why this drink is called a "bicicletta" is unknown to me, although there is an apparent connection by the drink using 2 slices of orange to represent wheels. Campari is an herbal and fruit drink invented in Italy in the mid 1800s. It is red in color and bitter in taste. The "Bicicletta" is best served in a large cocktail or wine glass, but I don't have such glasses, so I improvised and used the best glass I have on hand. Just to clarify, this is not a small drink, but you could certainly adjust the ingredient amounts to fit a somewhat smaller glass. As for the wine, Pinot Grigio is easily available, and Frascati is also good and available in many stores and wine shops, but you can use any dry white wine you like.

While I knew of this cocktail beforehand, I used the recipe from: https://www.liquor.com

Ingredients (per drink):

3 ounces dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or Frascati are good)
2 ounces Campari
club soda to fill
orange slices for garnish
ice

In a large glass, add the white wine and the Campari, stir lightly. Add the orange slices and a little ice, then add club soda to fill.

I put a few ice cubes on the other side of the orange slices for the sake of the photos

WORD HISTORY:
Kite-The origin of this word is thought to come from the shrill and screeching sound made by some birds, and as such, it is hard to separate this word out from the various imitative sound words in other languages and dialects, not only in the other Germanic languages, but in other Indo European languages as well. The imitative sounds then were sometimes used to form the names of various birds associated with a particular sound. Old English had "cyta," the name for middle sized birds of prey, especially the Red Kite. This then became "kyte" and then "kite." Sometimes the word has been used for people who prey on others. By the 1600s, the word came to be used for "a device of cloth (later, often paper) over a lightweight wooden frame used for flying as a form of play and entertainment." This naturally came from this device's hovering and gliding in the air like a bird. Verbal use of the word developed from the noun from the idea of "something rising or soaring into the sky," or figuratively, like "rising prices" or "rising values on some object or property." Also by circa 1800, "fly a kite" was used to mean "a draft or check on a bank account that has insufficient funds to cover the amount at that time." "Go fly a kite" is an expression (from the 1840s?) meaning "to bluntly tell someone to leave you alone" (example: "The sophomore high school boy asked the popular senior girl to go to a movie, and she told him to 'go fly a kite.' " "Kite" has a relative in German "Kauz" (once spelled "kuze" and "kutz," and spelled "Chutz" in some Swiss German dialects), meaning "owl" (perhaps originally "screech owl," and German also has the synonym "Eule," the close relative of English "owl"); Low German had "kutz," but in modern times Low German relies upon the word "Uul," another relative of "owl."  

Indian Fried Cheese in Chili Gravy

Paneer is a compressed form of fresh cheese. It is available in cheese shops, Indian/Pakistani grocery stores and some supermarkets. It is very similar to farmer's cheese, and I've read that you can use farmer's cheese or tofu as a substitute, although I've never used either of these for this recipe. This is an Indian dish with Chinese influence. You can make it as mild or as spicy hot as you'd like, but at least I hope you'll use the ground red pepper to experience a little "kick" to the recipe. "Heat lovers" can add both the ground red pepper and 2 to 4 fresh hot chilies, which should keep their mouths blazing, their foreheads sweating and their moods happy. Some people make a batter to coat the cheese before frying it, but I've dry coated the paneer, although I've also made batter fried paneer. Both are wonderful, but I give this recipe the edge. Americans and Canadians, at least, would likely call the liquid part a "sauce," but the people of the Indian Subcontinent call it "gravy," and that's groovy by me. Good served with rice or with naan or roti bread.    

Ingredients (2 to 3 servings)

To fry the paneer:
1/2 to 2/3 pound paneer, cut into about 3/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper or hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil (more if needed)

To make the gravy:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 green onions (with green), chopped
1 tablespoon grated/minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 to 4 hot chilies (serranos or jalapeños are good), chopped (seeds removed if you prefer)
1 chopped Roma tomato (or medium tomato) with juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon ground hot red pepper (like cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (the redder the bedder ... ah, better)
1/2 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1 tablespoon butter 
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar 
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch well mixed with 3 to 4 tablespoons water  

To fry the paneer: In a bowl, add the cornstarch, flour, ground red pepper, ground white or black pepper, turmeric and salt, mix well. Add the paneer cubes to the dry mixture and gently turn to coat. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Shake excess flour mixture from each paneer cube, then add the cubes to the skillet. Lightly brown the cheese cubes on all sides by frying for a total of about 4 minutes (do not overcook, or the cheese will become tough; just lightly brown it, and the outside will have a slightly firm texture, while the inside will remain nice and soft). Drain the paneer cubes on paper towels. To make the gravy: Have your ingredients lined up and ready to go. You can use the same skillet and just add enough oil to make about 3 tablespoons, heat the oil over medium heat, then add the green and red pepper and stir, then about 1 minute later add the chili peppers and stir, then add the grated ginger and minced garlic and stir well. After about 30 seconds, add the tomato and stir, then add the soy sauce, ketchup, ground red pepper, paprika, and ground white or black pepper, stir very well. Add the rice vinegar, the sugar and the butter, stir until the butter melts, then add the water, stirring well to get everything mixed together. Let the gravy cook until it bubbles, then begin stirring in the cornstarch/water mixture, and let the gravy thicken to your preferred level of thickness.     

With naan bread ...

WORD HISTORY:
Paneer (also "panir")-This word's ultimate origin is uncertain, but it goes back to Persian "pynl," which meant "cheese," in general. This then developed to transliterated Persian "panir," which was taken by Hindi/Urdu as transliterated "panir." This was borrowed by English, but I cannot determine when it was borrowed. The "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" says "1954" for first use in English, but I would believe the word to have been around earlier, although perhaps not in great usage. It is still not a terribly common word in American English, but it might be used more in British English because of Britain's colonial connection to India. I would think mainly people with knowledge of foods from the Indian subcontinent or cheese experts are most commonly familiar with it. Other sources do not even give a presumed date for an English borrowing.    

What's In A Name: Bertha, Oscar

Bertha-This name is also spelled "Berta" in some languages, for example: Czech, Hungarian and Spanish. The name is from Germanic and was originally a shortening of some compound names, although it quickly became a common name in its own right. The primary element of "Bertha" was from Germanic "berhtaz," which had the notion of "shining, gleaming;" thus, "bright." The Germanic form gave Old High German "beraht," which also meant "bright," and indeed, the Germanic form is the source of English "bright." It seems that Charlemagne's mother had the name, as a shortening of her proper name, "Bertrada," and this greatly popularized the name. The name "Big Bertha" was a nickname given by the Allies to the German 420mm howitzer of the World War I era, likely as a play on Bertha Krupp, who had headed the German armaments manufacturer "Krupp" prior to the war. In actual usage, the nickname was often used for various large German artillery pieces, and the beginning letter "B" for both words was perfect in sound and made it easy to remember. The use for large artillery made a tie of the nickname to heavy set women which became so strong, the term was used in a comedic way, and likely this unfortunately made many English speaking parents think twice about naming their newly born daughters "Bertha."     

Oscar-This name, also spelled "Oskar," is a compound derived from Germanic, with the first part, "Os," going back to Indo European "ansu," which meant, "(a) spirit." This gave Old Germanic "ansu(z)," meaning "god, deity;" thus also, "godliness." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "ós," which meant "god," in a general sense. The second part of the name is from Germanic derived "gar," which meant "spear," and it is related to the first part of "garlic." Together they gave Old English the name "Osgar," meaning "god's spear." The change to the spelling "Oscar" is more contentious, although quite simply it could just be a variant spelling of the English name "Osgar." On the other hand, Irish had the name "Oscair/Oscar," 1) perhaps borrowed from the English form, 2) perhaps borrowed from Old Norse "Ásgeir" (the Norse landed in Ireland in circa 800 and continued involvement with landings/settlements there for a couple of hundred years, and longer if you take up when they were called "Norsemen" and later "Normans" 3) perhaps from Gaelic "os," meaning "deer" (the animal) and "cara," meaning "friend." Of course, there may be some truth to many or all of these things, from the Old English form and the Irish form, or the Irish form influenced the Old English form. Oscar I King of Sweden and Norway helped popularize the name in the 1800s (Oscar was a middle name for him, but it had been "given" ("suggested?") by Napoleon, whom the boy's father served as Minister of War when the child was born.    

I consulted the following for this article: 1) https://www.behindthename.com  2) "A Dictionary of First Names (Second Edition)," by Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle and Flavia Hodges, Oxford University Press, 2006

WORD HISTORY:  
Borrow-This word is related to "bury," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "bargain," a word of Germanic origin, absorbed by Latin-based French and later borrowed by English via the Normans. "Borrow" goes back to Indo European "bhergh," which had the notion "to hide, to protect, to secure." This produced the Old Germanic offshoot "borganjan/burganan," which meant "to borrow, to lend," and borrowing/lending have the notion of "something given with security," thus showing the "secure/protect" notion of the word, but it did not necessarily mean collateral was used to "secure" the transaction, but often an agreement or pledge was what was meant, which required some  "give and take," "back and forth;" that is, haggling, to finalize, the idea behind the verb form "to bargain." The Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "borgian," meaning "to borrow, to lend, to pledge security for," which then morphed into "borwen," before the modern form. "Borg" was the Old English noun and it meant, "pledge (also the more specific "bail")." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German and Low German have the verb "borgen," meaning both "to borrow" and "to lend," depending upon usage in the sentence; German has the nouns "Borg" and "Borgen" meaning "the act of borrowing (with a pledge of payment)," Dutch has "borgen" meaning "to guarantee," and the noun "borg," "a pledge, a guarantee," also, "bail;" Frisian once had "borgia," Swedish has "borga" meaning "guarantee a payment."      

Like Mr. Howell, Trump Says, "Make It Fit"

I'm returning briefly to one of my all time favorite shows, "Gilligan's Island." In the show, for those unaware, Mr. Howell, properly known as Thurston Howell III, played by Cleveland's own Jim Backus, is a wealthy business tycoon and one of the castaways who were shipwrecked during a storm. Like a dictator, Mr. Howell is accustomed to giving orders, and subordinates hop to it. By the way, he sees subordinates as everyone else on the planet. Like Donald Trump (played by Donald Trump), Mr. Howell's feathers get ruffled when anyone dares to point out his mistakes or dares to oppose his desires. Even with his great wealth, Howell is always scheming to get even more wealth, sometimes at the expense of his fellow castaways and even of his own wife. Can you imagine Mr. Howell as president, with access to the U.S. Treasury, especially after getting rid of anyone who could investigate any dipping into the till or other lawbreaking? In spite of his faults, Mr. Howell could eventually come to a reality check on his behavior and then try to make amends, although it might take some stomping and pouting first. 

Anyway, in one episode the shipwrecked little group finds separate pieces of an ancient stone tablet with drawings they believe might disclose a secret way off the island. Like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, each person tries to put a piece of the puzzle together. When Mr. Howell tries, the piece doesn't fit, so he says, "Break off a piece and make it fit!" Rigging the truth will make any message of the stone tablet wrong and of no benefit.

Photo of Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III from the Turner Home Entertainment/Warner Brothers Complete Gilligan's Island First Season DVD Set

WORD HISTORY:
Sub-This is not the shortened form for "submarine," but rather the widely used prefix. "Sub-" is distantly related to "up," "open," "oft" and "often," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and it is also related to a whole range of words with the prefix "sub-" (examples: "subordinate," "submerge"), and to many words beginning with "sus" (examples: "suspect," "sustain"). "Sub-" goes back to the Indo European root "upo," with the notion of "from under" or "from below," "to go over/above." This gave Italic "supo," seemingly a prefixed form from Indo European, and this gave Latin "sub," with generally the same or similar meanings to the Indo European form. This was not borrowed by English so much directly, but rather along with a number of words from Latin or from Latin-based languages, and it was then used by English as a word forming prefix, like for "subway," a word with the Latin prefix, but with a Germanic base and an original English word (way).        

Indian Chicken Curry

"Chicken Curry" is a popular dish on the Indian subcontinent, as well as in the United Kingdom, as it was one of the dishes brought there during the time when much of the subcontinent was a British colony. With trading ships traveling the world and stopping in so many places and with people of the Indian subcontinent emigrating to other parts of the world, recipes for chicken curry spread elsewhere, and as you can imagine, there are numerous recipes, but there are many variations right within the Indian subcontinent,* including some with far less sauce, often called "gravy" by people of the subcontinent. As I have said before about some Indian recipes, they can contain a long list of ingredients, but that's often because these recipes contain many wonderful spices. 

You can use chicken pieces with bones, which IS traditional, but let's be honest, boneless chicken is easy to deal with when eating, so that's what I often use, and I haven't been hit by a piece of naan bread yet, darn it! It's so good. I've also used some bright red sweet paprika, which is not traditional, but it helps to give more red color to the dish.**

Ingredients:

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds small chicken pieces, bones-in or boneless
2 medium onions, chopped
2 to 3 chilies (serranos or jalapeños are good), chopped
2 to 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 inch piece ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil)
2/3 teaspoon turmeric
2 bay leaves
1 heaping teaspoon ground red pepper (like cayenne)
1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika, the redder the color, the better
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (also called coriander)
(optional) if you want to thicken the curry, grind up 10 or 12 cashews, stir the meal into the gravy

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until browned. When the onion is not quite browned, add the garlic and the ginger and saute until the onion is browned, stirring or swirling the ingredients in the pan as they cook (to prevent them from burning). Add the chopped chilies, chopped tomato and the turmeric, saute until chilies and tomatoes soften. Add the chicken and stir to mix, cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often to brown the chicken pieces somewhat. Add the ground red pepper, paprika, ground coriander, ground cumin, black pepper, ground cloves, cinnamon, salt, stir well to mix in everything. Add the water and stir again, cook for a minute or two, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook about 25 minutes. If using ground cashews, stir them in and continue stirring for about another 1 to 2 minutes. Good served with rice or naan bread, or even better, with both.

* In northeastern India and Bangladesh they often add potatoes to the dish. Sri Lanka is one of the countries of the Indian subcontinent and I have a recipe for a Sri Lankan chicken curry at this link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/03/sri-lankan-chicken-curry.html

** The red peppers used in much of the cooking of the Indian subcontinent give a nice bright red color, something not always easy to duplicate with "Western" chili powders or ground red peppers.

WORD HISTORY:
Bandana-This word is related to "bind," "bend," "bond" and "band,"^ all words from the Germanic roots of English. "Bandana" (also spelled "bandanna" by some) goes back to Indo European "bhendh," which had the notion of "to tie, tie up, to bind." This gave Sanskrit "badhnati," which meant "binds." This gave Hindi "bandhnu," meaning "a process of tying cloth and then dyeing it" (the source of modern tie-dyeing). This was borrowed by English in the mid 1700s as "bandanna" (apparently double 'n' initially and by some still today), meaning, "colorful handkerchief," later in American English usage, "handkerchief worn around the neck by cowboys," then also, "colorful cloth worn on the head." 

^ The meaning of "band" for "a group of people, often like outlaws or musicians," was borrowed by English from French. The meaning, "strip of something, usually flat, that separates an area from another, often by color," also came from French ("bande") and it influenced (expanded) the existing English meaning "strip of something used to bind." The French form came from the same Old Germanic source, but was absorbed into French from Germanic Frankish. 

The Pussyfoot Rum Cocktail

While the recipe below is what I use, I first learned of this drink from a book I've owned for many years: "Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide" (revised), Trader Vic (Victor Bergeron), Doubleday and Company, Garden City, NY 1972 

The word "pussyfoot" naturally developed from the notion of how a cat walks; thus, "tread softly, cautiously, stealthily." It also then developed the figurative meaning, "to speak indirectly about a difficult subject, to speak cautiously," and as such, it is similar to the expression, "to beat around the bush." I don't hear it much today, but a former boss used it a lot, and that was over ... ah, 50 weeks ago? Over 50 months ago? Okay, over 50 years ago. I'm not sure why this drink was given this name. I'm not one to like tart or outright sour drinks or foods, so if you're like me, you can sweeten this a bit with some sugar, or cut the amount of lime juice. When blended, the cream will provide a fluffy kind of topping to the cocktail.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 ounces white (light-colored) rum
2 ounces heavy cream
3 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces fresh lime juice
2 ounces cherry juice 
1/3 cup ice (or add crushed ice after blending)
maraschino cherry and partial pineapple slice or lime slice for garnish 

Add all but garnish to blender, blend for about 30 seconds. Pour into a tall glass


With lots of crushed ice ....

 Also with crushed ice ....

With crushed ice and topped with a maraschino cherry ...

Blended with ice, slice of lime garnish ...

WORD HISTORY:
Look-The ultimate origin of this common word is unknown. It "could" be a West Germanic invention, as forms are not present throughout the Germanic languages, but rather only in the West Germanic languages, where the word has only "prospered" in English. Likewise, there are no "certain" relatives outside of Germanic, although Celtic has some possible connections. This makes sense, as the West Germanic dialects were in frequent contact with Celtic, including Gaulish and Brittonic (the Celtic dialects of Britain), and for instance, Welsh "llygad" means "eye." West Germanic had "lok(i)jan," meaning "to see, to look upon." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "locian" (long 'o'), meaning, "to look, to gaze," and the extended meaning, "to take or pay heed (to someone or something)," and to this day we say, "look after someone or something;" that is, "give care or help to, to watch over." "Locian" then became "lokien," then "loken," before the modern form. Relatives in the West Germanic languages: German has "lugen" (once spelled "luogen"), it is still around, but of limited usage; Low German once had "loken," Dutch has "loeken," like the German form, it is still around, but not commonly used, West Frisian has "lôkje/lokje" (?). The noun form in English meaning "the act of looking" goes back to late Old English, and the noun form meaning, "the appearance of a person," as in, "He has that look about him," goes back to the late 1300s, with the plural "looks" also used for "a person's appearance," dating to the mid 1500s.    

Mint Julep

"Juleps" have likely been around for a couple of centuries in one form or another, but the "Mint Julep" drink known to us for more than one hundred years is made with bourbon whiskey, a beverage strongly tied to the state of Kentucky. No question the name of the whiskey traces back to the former ruling family of France, the Bourbons, whose King Louis XVI provided aid to the American colonies in their fight for independence from Britain. The likely direct source of the name for the whiskey is Bourbon County, Kentucky, itself named for the French family. "Mint Juleps" have long been served at the famous "Kentucky Derby" horse race held at Churchill Downs in the city of Louisville, named after Louis XVI. "Mint Juleps" are often served in metal cups, where they are filled with lots of ice (usually crushed ice) and allowed to sit until the cup is well chilled or frosted before serving.    

Ingredients (per drink):

2 ounces bourbon
1 teaspoon sugar (or simple syrup*)
6 to 8 mint leaves (not tiny leaves)
ice
optional: bitters
sprig of mint for garnish

Gently rub the mint leaves together between your hands (this begins to release the mint flavor). Add the leaves to a cocktail glass, then add the sugar and bourbon (and a couple of drops of bitters, if you'd like). Mix to dissolve the sugar, then add lots of ice cubes or crushed ice. Naturally, if you use simple syrup, you needn't worry about dissolving the sugar. Let the drink sit for a couple of minutes until well chilled from the ice.  

* Simple syrup is often used to sweeten drinks in place of actually using dry sugar, which may not always dissolve completely. To make simple syrup: use one part sugar (1/2 cup, for example) mixed into an equal amount of water (1/2 cup) in a pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool before using.   

WORD HISTORY:
Julep-While the use of this word is relatively modern, the origin of this compound word is truly ancient. The first part of the word is distantly related to "rose," a word borrowed from Latin.^ The ultimate origin of the first part is uncertain, but it seems to trace back to Old Iranian "urda,"^^ meaning "flower" and "rose" (the flowering plant). This later gave transliterated Persian, another Indo European language, "gul" (rose). The second part of "julep" goes back to Indo European "ap/ep," which was another term for "water," often with the underlying meaning, "source of water" in some Indo European languages, words derived from it in several languages mean, "river," "channel or ditch for irrigation," "spring," "stream." This gave Persian "ap" (water), which was coupled in Persian with the above word "gul," as "gulab," meaning, "rosewater" (made by soaking rose petals in water), and the term was borrowed by Arabic as transliterated "julab," which was borrowed by Latin as "julapium" (rosewater, drink used for stomach ailments) and this passed to Old French as "julep," with the same meanings. English borrowed the word circa 1400 meaning, "sweet drink used as medicine, or used to make other medicines palatable." By the late 1700s the term was being used by some Americans for "a sweet alcoholic beverage (then usually made with rum or brandy) and herbs."  

^ "Rose" is a word with a complex history. While English borrowed it from Latin ("perhaps" from Christian monks or other religious personnel?), it is NOT a Latin-derived word, but rather a borrowing by Latin.

^^ Old Iranian was an Indo European language.     

Paloma Cocktail

This popular Mexican cocktail is of disputed origin; thus, we are unlikely to ever really know its history for sure. The main meaning of "paloma" in Spanish is "dove" or "pigeon," and "paloma" is related to "pale/pallid" (see "Word History," below).    

Ingredients:

2 ounces tequila
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice
pinch of salt
(optional) coarse salt for the rim of the glass, if desired 
2 to 4 ounces grapefruit soda like Squirt or Fresca or fresh grapefruit juice and club soda
ice
slice of lime for garnish

If you want to salt the rim of the glass, add some coarse salt to a small plate. Rub a piece of lime around the rim of the glass, then dip the rim of the glass into the salt, rolling it around to evenly coat it with salt. To a tall glass, add the tequila, lime juice, fresh grapefruit juice and pinch of salt; mix well, then add ice and fill with grapefruit soda. You can just use grapefruit soda, if you'd like, but the fresh grapefruit juice does add flavor, in my opinion, and yes, you can use red grapefruit juice. 

WORD HISTORY:
Pale (Pallid)-This "pale" is the form, most commonly used as an adjective, but also with usage as a verb, that means, "light in color." English has another, unrelated, word of this spelling, meaning "wooden stakes," most commonly used in reference to the vertical stakes attached to horizontal bars/rails to make a fence. The adjective "pale" is related to "pallor," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from Latin-based French. "Pale" goes back to Indo European "pel/pelh," which meant, "light in color;" thus also in some contexts, "grey/gray." ^ This gave Latin the verb "pallere," meaning "to be or become light in color;" thus, "to be or become pale." This produced the Latin adjective "pallidus," meaning, "of light color, colorless, wan;" thus, "pale." English borrowed "pallidus" from Latin in the late 1500s as "pallid," meaning, "of light color, lacking color, wan, of dull color, ashen;" thus "pale." Prior to that, "pallidus" had passed into Latin-based Old French as "paile" ("light colored, pale") and English borrowed the French term as "pale" in the 1300s and also meaning "light colored, of little or no color (especially in reference to skin complexion)." The verb form of "pale," also in the 1300s, came from the recently borrowed adjective, probably reinforced by "paleir," the French form of the verb, and meaning "to become less in color," later also used figuratively, "to be or become less important."    

^ The British spelling is overwhelmingly "grey," while Americans overwhelmingly use "gray," and Canadians "seem" split on the spelling. When I was younger, I seem to recall "grey" being seen somewhat frequently here in the U.S., and American author Zane Grey's books were quite popular back then, with several made into movies or used for television stories (there was actually a television series, I believe called "Zane Grey Theater"). I've got to believe his name influenced the spelling back then, keeping the "g-r-e-y" spelling in use, and I must admit to being confused how to spell the word until much later ... I'd say until about 4 or 5 days ago. hahaha