grayback

[ grey-bak ]

noun

1. any of various marine and aquatic animals that are dark gray above and light-colored or white below, as the gray whale, the alewife, certain whitefish, and certain sandpipers.
2. Informal. a Confederate soldier.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grayback¹

First recorded in 1805–15; gray ¹ + back ¹

Example Sentences

The swampy expeditions, riverboat duels and months of maneuvering gave way to a siege whose end seemed inevitable, as Grant finally boxed Pemberton’s graybacks inside the city.

From Wall Street Journal

Only 100 miles south of the District, this former Confederate capital felt, at times, decidedly Southern, with grayback statues lining a celebrated avenue and shopkeepers offering customers an unhurried welcome.

From Washington Post

His eyes traveled up the great rock—in whose cave his companions lay sleeping; as they gained the top of that old grayback, they were confronted by two other eyes—mere twinkling points of flame!

From Project Gutenberg

A grayback lizard darts out of the greasewood near at hand, blinks rapidly and darts back again, glad to escape the intolerable heat.

From Project Gutenberg

For had he not found a number of the graybacks thus happily engaged?

From Project Gutenberg