gay

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See also Gay, gậy, and Appendix:ISO 639-3 language codes

Contents

English

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Wikipedia

Etymology

From Old French gai, blend of jai (“merry”) and Old Provençal gai (“impetuous, lively”),[1] both from Frankish *gāhi (compare Dutch gauw (“fast; quickly”)), from Proto-Germanic *gēha (compare Low German (Westphalian) gau, gai, German jäh (“abrupt, sudden; abruptly”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵhēi- (“to go”).[2][3] More at go.
The sense of homosexual (first recorded no later than 1947) was shortened from earlier gay cat ‘homosexual boy’ in underworld and prison slang, itself first attested about 1935, but used earlier for a young tramp or hobo attached to an older one.[4] The sense of ‘upright’, used in reference to a dog’s tail, probably derives from the ‘happy’ sense of the word.

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay (comparative gayer, superlative gayest)

  1. (dated) Happy, joyful, and lively.
    • circa 1692, William Walch, preface to Letters and Poems, Amorous and Gallant, in John Dryden, The Fourth Part of Miſcellany Poems, Jacob Tonson (publisher, 1716), page 338:
      Never was there a more copious Fancy or greater reach of Wit, than what appears in Dr. Donne; nothing can be more gallant or gentile than the poems of Mr. Waller; nothing more gay or ſprightly than thoſe of Sir John Suckling; and nothing fuller of Variety and Learning than Mr. Cowley’s.
    • 1934, George Marion Jr. et al., (title):
      The Gay Divorcee.
    • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber 1992, p. 252:
      The excitement engendered by the decision to die perked him right up;he had not felt so gay for ages.
  2. (dated) Festive, bright, or colourful.
    Pennsylvania Dutch include the plain folk and the gay folk.
    • 1881, J. P. McCaskey (editor), “Deck the Hall[sic]”, Franklin Square Song Collection, number 1, Harper & Brothers (New York), page 120
      Don we now our gay apparel
    • 1944, Ralph Blane, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, Meet Me in St. Louis, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Make the Yule-tide gay / From now on our troubles will be miles away
  3. (of a person, especially a man) Homosexual: preferring romantic or sexual partners of the same gender or the same sex.
    • 1947, Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques[1], p. 240:
      He was not happy at the farm and went to a Western city where he associated with a homosexual crowd, being "gay," and wearing female clothes and makeup.
    • 2003, Michael McAvennie, The World Wrestling Entertainment Yearbook:
      She couldn't even gain access from a family friend whose name was on the list, nor could she use her feminine charms to turn on the staff member, who revealed he was gay and was more impressed seeing Billy and Chuck enter the building.
    • 2009, Betty Jean Lifton, Lost & Found: the Adoption Experience, page 67:
      Her adoptive mother fainted when Gail told her she was gay.
  4. (of a romantic relationship or pairing) Homosexual: being between two people of the same gender or the same sex; especially, being between two men.
    Gay marriage, though legal here, is still very controversial.
    Although the number of gay weddings has increased significantly, many gay and lesbian couples — like many straight couples — are not interested in getting married.
  5. (of an institution or group) Homosexual: intended for gay people, especially gay men.
    She professes an undying love for gay bars and gay movies, and even admits to having watched gay porn.
    • 2003, Lawrence Block, Small Town, page 269:
      He might well have suspected Cheek was a gay bar without seeing any of its patrons, simply because it was in a neighborhood where most of the bars were gay, and because you couldn't see in the windows.
    • 2004, Martin Hughes, Sarah Johnstone, Tom Masters, London, page 208:
      Turn left into chilled-out Old Compton St and try to guess which bars are gay. Even the straight bars in Soho are quite gay, so it's often a bit hard to tell.
    • 2010, Jay Mohr, No Wonder My Parents Drank: Tales from a Stand-Up Dad, page 252:
      Again I was to masturbate into a cup and again the majority of the porn was gay.
  6. (loosely, of appearance or behavior) Homosexual: being in accordance with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men.
  7. (loosely, of a person, especially a man) Homosexual: exhibiting appearance or behavior that accords with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men.
    • a. 2005, Jason Christopher Hartley, “October 23, 2004: This Is My Weapon, This Is My Gerber”, in Just Another Soldier: A Year on the Ground in Iraq, HarperCollins (2005), ISBN 0-06-084366-7, page 25:
      This incident has become a source of much discussion, and the jury is still out on who is more gay: the guy who touched a dick or the guy who let a guy touch his dick.
  8. (slang, pejorative) Effeminate or flamboyant in behavior.
  9. (slang, pejorative) Used to express dislike: lame, uncool, stupid.
    • 1996, Lisa's Date With Density, The Simpsons (cartoon television series). Upon discovering Nelson kissing Lisa:
      Dolph: "Oh, man! You kissed a girl!"
      Jimbo: "That is so gay!"
    • 2000, Nancy Updike, That's So Gay, Salon
      [Y]ou or someone you know has declared something gay in the last week. Not gay as in homosexual, but gay in that grade-school "That is so gay!" way, i.e. lame, wrongheaded, queer in the original sense. This is happening all around you. That woman’s hairdo? Gay. That book jacket? Gay. The fact that Dick and Lynne Cheney won’t talk about their lesbian daughter? Gay gay gay.
    This game is gay; let’s play a different one. = I dislike this game; let’s play a different one.
  10. (of a dog's tail) Upright or curved over the back.
    • 1997, Michael DeVine, Border Collies
      While the dog in concentrating at a given task, the tail is carried low and used for balance. In excitement it may rise level with the back. A “gay” tail is a fault.
    • 2000, David Leavitt, Martin Bauman; or, a Sure Thing
      By now Nora had left my side and was grappling with Maisie, trying to hold her still long enough to examine her bit. “You haven’t trained her well,” she muttered to Eli. “Oh, she’s got a gay tail!” Eli laughed. “A gay tail? What does that mean?” “It curls upward.” Nona let Maisie go. “Still, you never intended her to be a show dog,” she added. brushing off her skirt as she made for the house.

Usage notes

  • Gay has been predominantly used in recent decades in the sense of homosexual and the related senses. The earlier uses of festive, colorful and bright are still found, especially in literary contexts; however, this usage has fallen out of fashion and is now likely to be misunderstood by those who are unaware of the original meaning of the word which dates back to 13th-century Middle English.
  • Gay is preferred to homosexual by many gay (homosexual) people as their own term for themselves. Some claim that homosexual is dated and evokes a time when homosexuality was considered a mental illness by the mental health community, while others feel that the word homosexuality does not express the emotional aspects of sexual orientation.
  • Currently, both the usage implying homosexuality and the pejorative description of queerness are both predominant.

Synonyms

  • (lame, uncool:) ghey

Translations

happy, joyful and lively
festive, bright, colorful
homosexual
typical of homosexual appearance
behaving in a way associated with females
lame, uncool (used to express dislike)


The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Alain Rey, ed., Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, vol. 2, s.v. “gai” (Paris: Le Robert, 2006).
  2. ^ Marlies Philippa et al., eds., Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands, A-Z, s.v. “gauw” (Amsterdam UP, 3 Dec. 2009): <http://www.etymologie.nl>.
  3. ^ Louis Guinet, Les emprunts gallo-romans au germanique (Paris: Klincksieck, 1982).
  4. ^ Robert K. Barnhart, ed., Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, s.v. “gay” (Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, [2008], c1988), 425.

Noun

gay (plural gays)

  1. (chiefly in plural or attributive) a homosexual, especially a male homosexual; see also lesbian.
  2. (obsolete) An ornament.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of L'Estrange to this entry?)

Usage notes

  • According to one source, "gay may be regarded as offensive when used as a noun to refer to particular individuals."[2]

Synonyms

Translations

homosexual person, especially male

Related terms

Anagrams

Finnish

Noun

gay

  1. (colloquial) gay

Declension

Declension of gay (type rosé)
singular plural
nominative gay gayt
genitive gayn gayiden
partitive gayta gayita
accusative gay
gayn		 gayt
inessive gayssa gayissa
elative gaysta gayista
illative gayhin
gayhyn		 gayihin
adessive gaylla gayilla
ablative gaylta gayilta
allative gaylle gayille
essive gayna gayina
translative gayksi gayiksi
instructive – gayin
abessive gaytta gayitta
comitative – gayineen
Declension of gay (type rosé)
singular plural
nominative gay gayt
genitive gayn gayiden
partitive gaytä gayitä
accusative gay
gayn		 gayt
inessive gayssä gayissä
elative gaystä gayistä
illative gayhin
gayhyn		 gayihin
adessive gayllä gayillä
ablative gayltä gayiltä
allative gaylle gayille
essive gaynä gayinä
translative gayksi gayiksi
instructive – gayin
abessive gayttä gayittä
comitative – gayineen

French

Pronunciation

Noun

gay m. (plural gays)

  1. gay (homosexual person)

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old French gai.

Alternative forms

Adjective

gay

  1. cheerful, happy
Descendants

Etymology 2

From Old Northern French gai, from Late Latin gaius.

Alternative forms

Noun

gay m.

  1. jay
  2. parrot
Descendants

Romanian

Etymology

From English gay

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay 1 nom/acc forms

  1. gay
    Homomasculinitatea este un termen care se referă la o subcultură de bărbați gay care se auto-identifică cu rolul de gen și cultura stereotipului masculinității tradiționale.
    Homomasculinity is a term that refers to a subculture of gay men who self-identify with the gender roles and culture of the stereotype of traditional masculinity.

Spanish

Etymology

From English gay.

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɡe̞j/

Adjective

gay

  1. gay, homosexual
    María es la única persona que no sabe que su hermano es gay.
    Maria is the only person who doesn't know that her brother is gay.

Noun

gay m. and f.

  1. a homosexual person, gay person
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