Wiktionary

gay

See also: Gay, gáy, gấy, gảy, and gậy

Translingual

Symbol

gay

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Gayo.

See also

English

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

  • enPR: gā, IPA(key): /ɡeɪ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1

 
Male gay couple
 
Female gay couple

From Middle English gay, from Old French gai (“joyful, laughing, merry”), usually thought to be a borrowing of Old Occitan gai (“impetuous, lively”), from Gothic *𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌴𐌹𐍃 (*gaheis, “impetuous”), merging with earlier Old French jai ("merry"; see jay), from Frankish *gāhi;[1] both from Proto-Germanic *ganhuz, *ganhwaz (“sudden”). This is possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (“to stride, step”), from *ǵʰēy- (“to go”),[2][3] but Kroonen rejects this derivation and treats the Germanic word as having no known etymology.[4]

cognates and sense derivation

Cognate with Dutch gauw (“fast, quickly”), Westphalian Low German gau, gai (“fast, quick”), German jäh (“abrupt, sudden”).

Anatoly Liberman, following Frank Chance and Harri Meier, believes Old French gai was instead a native development from Latin vagus (“wandering, inconstant, flighty”), with *[w] > [g] as in French gaine.[5]

The sense of homosexual (first recorded no later than 1937 by Cary Grant in the film Bringing Up Baby, and possibly earlier in 1922 in the poem "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene" by Gertrude Stein[6][7]) 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.[8]

Pejorative usage is probably due to hostility towards homosexuality.

The sense of ‘upright’, used in reference to a dog’s tail, probably derives from the ‘happy’ sense of the word.

Adjective

gay (comparative gayer, superlative gayest)

 
Symbol for a male gay union
 
Symbol for a female gay union
  1. Homosexual:
    1. (of a person) Possessing sexual and/or romantic attraction towards people one perceives to be the same sex or gender as oneself. [from 1950]
      Cliff is gay, but his twin brother is straight.
      • 1947, Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques[3], page 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.
      • 2005, Mark Caldwell, New York Night, page 133:
        Of the dozen or so surviving articles, squibs, and letters to the editor, the most remarkable appeared in the Whip and Satirist’s February 12, 1842, issue, and disclosed the existence of a cabal of gay men in New York's otherwise wholesome nightscape of brothels and riots. Moreover it identified the spider who minced so delicately along the wide-flung strands of the sodomitical web. "There is not one so degraded as this Captain Collins, the King of the Sodomites." He was a foreigner, an Englishman, in the long tradition of blaming homosexuality on the influence of aliens. Among the syndicate of perverts, the writer announced, "we find no Americans as yet—they are all Englishmen or French" (the English called homosexuality the French vice and the French the English vice; for the Whip it was the French and English vice).
      • 2007, Kevin P. Murphy, Jason Ruiz, David Serlin, Queer Futures, Radical History Review (Duke University Press), page 58:
        The two failed attempts to receive the necessary access to medicalized transition procedures by the renowned FTM activist Lou Sullivan—a gay man who refused to comply with the imperative that transsexual men must desire women— […]
      • 2009, Betty Jean Lifton, Lost & Found: the Adoption Experience, page 67:
        Her adoptive mother fainted when Gail told her she was gay.
    2. (strictly) Describing a homosexual man.
      gay and lesbian people
    3. (of an animal, by extension) Tending to partner or mate with other individuals of the same sex.
      • 2010, Noėl Sturgeon, Environmentalism in Popular Culture: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and the Politics of the Natural, page 128:
        In fact, as several letter writers to the New York Times pointed out in their response to the article, the disjuncture between these two popularized penguins shows how radically separated from each other are communities of gay people and communities of right-wing religious conservatives: if the Christian fundamentalists had looked up "gay penguins" or even "penguins" on the Internet, they would have encountered several gay penguin sites, including the story of Roy and Silo, the Central Park Zoo gay penguin couple about whom a children's book was written; the saga of the gay penguin community at a German zoo; and the campaign of Gay Penguin for President (whose slogan was "George W. Bush talks the talk, but Gay Penguin walks the walk.")
    4. (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship) Between two or more persons perceived to be of the same sex or gender as each other.
      Although the number of gay weddings has increased significantly, many gay and lesbian couples — like many straight couples — are not interested in getting married.
      gay marriage
      gay sex
    5. (colloquial) Not heterosexual, or not cisgender: homosexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, etc.
      Coordinate term: LGBTQ
    6. (of an institution or group) 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.
      • 1977, Charles Silverstein, Edmund White, The Joy of Gay Sex, New York: Crown Publishers, →ISBN, page 162:
        Gays meet each other in special-interest social groups—gay softball leagues, gay bike clubs, gay gymnasia, gay activist political organizations, the Gay Academic Union (an organization for gay teachers, scholars and students), gay university student clubs and so on.
      • 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.
    7. (slang, with for) Homosexually in love with someone.
      • 2014 December 6, Ej Dickson, “The 7 worst things about NBC's "Peter Pan Live!"”, in Salon.com‎[4]:
        […] the pirates, who are obviously totally gay for each other […]
      • 2014, Christopher Schaberg, Robert Bennett, Deconstructing Brad Pitt, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN, page 211:
        Being gay for Brad, even a teensy bit, is at the very least being able to imagine the potential for queerness. In a sense, like the recent popular and critical furor over men who are gay-for-pay, being gay for Brad is what Jeffrey Escoffier defines as "situational homosexuality," or other forms of man-on-man behavior […] In other words, rather than worry over whether or not men who are queer for Brad can easily be labeled as straight or gay, […]
      • 2017 May 2, German Lopez, “Stephen Colbert tried to insult Donald Trump. He made a homophobic comment instead.”, in Vox‎[5]:
        […] it’s now pretty popular among progressives to paint the US and Russian presidents as being gay for each other.
    8. (slang, humorous, with for) Infatuated with something, aligning with homosexual stereotypes.
      • 2014 December 31, Dan Savage, anonymous quotee, “Savage Love”, in The Stranger‎[6]:
        Vanilla straight guy here. […] Is it socially acceptable for me to good-naturedly say, "I'm totally gay for musical theater"?
    9. In accordance with stereotypes of homosexual people:
      1. (loosely, of appearance or behavior) Being in accordance with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men.
      2. (loosely, of a person, especially a man) 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, published 2005, →ISBN, 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.
  2. A pejorative:
    1. (slang, derogatory) Effeminate or flamboyant in behavior.
    2. (slang, derogatory) Used to express dislike: lame, uncool, stupid, burdensome, contemptible, generally bad.
      Synonym: ghey
      This game is gay; let’s play a different one.
      • 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!"
  3. (dated) Happy, joyful, and lively.
    The Gay Science
    • c. 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.
    • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
      Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.
    • 1934, George Marion Jr. et al., (title):
      The Gay Divorcee.
    • 1939 July 19, The Bulletin, Sydney, page 14, column 1:
      ’Tis fine to be a pretty girl, or just a gay and witty girl,
      And obviously to be both is rightly counted jam[.]
    • 1972, Gilbert O'Sullivan, “Alone Again (Naturally)”, in Back to Front:
      To think that only yesterday / I was cheerful, bright and gay
    • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 252:
      The excitement engendered by the decision to die perked him right up; he had not felt so gay for ages.
  4. (dated) Quick, fast.
    • 1873, Gwordie Greenup, Yance a Year, section 25:
      I went a gay shack, / For it started to rain.
    • 1918, Hunter-trader-trapper, page 36:
      We launched our canoe and were off at a gay clip for Hackettstown, where Mart had a married sister, and we were figuring on big eats.
    • 1954 July, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 488:
      My correspondent, who was riding in the first coach, comments that the small standard tender did not take kindly to this gay progress, and signified its disapproval from time to time by bombarding the train with lumps of coal!
    • 2016, Laura Jean Libbey, Mischievous Maid Faynie, Library of Alexandria, →ISBN:
      " […] there is no one more competent to make it fly at a gay pace than myself. A prince of the royal blood couldn't go at a faster pace than I have been going during these last three weeks! Ha, ha, ha!" In a moment he was kneeling before the safe.
    • 2019, Lawrence Lariar, He Died Laughing, Open Road Media, →ISBN:
      We shot along Sunset Boulevard at a gay pace, and squealed a turn down Vine Street with never a jitterbug pedestrian to make the driving interesting.
  5. (dated) Festive, bright, or colourful.
    Pennsylvania Dutch include the plain folk and the gay folk.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      A Beavie of fair women, richly gay / In gems and wanton dress.
    • 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
    • 1946 May and June, “Notes and News: Special Services for the Welsh National Eisteddfod”, in Railway Magazine, page 188:
      Rhos station had been cleaned up for the occasion, and its single platform was gay with flags.
  6. (obsolete) Sexually promiscuous (of any gender), (sometimes particularly) engaged in prostitution.
    • 1806 (edition of 1815), John Davis, The Post-Captain, page 150:
      As our heroes passed along the Strand, they were accosted by a hundred gay ladies, who asked them if they were good-natured. "Devil take me!" exclaimed Echo, "if I know which way my ship heads; but there is not a girl in the Strand that I would touch with my gloves on."
    • 1856, Bayle St. John, The Subalpine kingdom: or, Experiences and studies in Savoy, Piedmont, and Genoa, volume 2, page 158:
      Prince Borghese was what is called a "gay, dissipated man"—that is to say, a powerful person leading a debauched and infamous life.
    • 1879, Great Britain, Reports from committees, House of Commons, page 61:
      […] it is possible for people to be diseased without being prostitutes or gay women; it is possible for people years ago to have spent a gay life and to have not got rid of their disease, or they may have become diseased by their husbands or lovers.
    • 1889, Albert Barrère, Charles Godfrey Leland, A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo-Indian Slang, Pidgin English, Tinker's Jargon and Other Irregular Phraseology‎[7], volume 1, page 399:
      Gay (common), loose, dissipated; a "gay woman" or "gay girl," a prostitute. "All gay," vide ALL GAY.
    • 1898, John Mackinnon Robertson, G. Aston Singer, “The Social Evil Problem”, in The University magazine and free review: a monthly magazine, volume 9, page 308:
      She imprudently forms the acquaintance of a "gay girl" living in the same street.
    • 1899, Henry Fielding, edited by Edmund Gosse, The works of Henry Fielding with an introduction, volume 11, page 290:
      "As nothing could be more gay, i.e., debauched, than Zeno's court, so the ladies of gay disposition had great sway in it; particularly one, whose name was Fausta, who, though not extremely handsome, was by her wit and sprightliness very agreeable to the emperor.
    • 1937, Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman's Honeymoon, page 357:
      "It's an odd thing," he observed, "that men like Crutchley, with quantities of large white teeth, are practically always gay Lotharios."
    • 1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 88:
      Most of them liked the work because it was gay and because they were able to earn more than other girls who worked in offices or city stores. They apparently remain taxi-dancers for only about a year or two[.]
  7. (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.
  8. (Scotland, Northern England, possibly obsolete) Considerable, great, large in number, size, or degree. In this sense, also in the variant gey.
    • 1832, George Pearson, Evenings by Eden-side: Or, Essays and Poems, page 67:
      As his reply was rather characteristic, I will give it : Many of them come a gay bit off.
    • 1872, William Cullen Bryant, A Library of Poetry and Song, page 106:
      Thou 's wantin' a sweetheart? Thou 's had a gay few! An' thou 's cheatit them, […]
    • 1876 (edition; original 1871), Richardson, Talk 1:
      A gay deal different to what I is noo.
    • 1881, Dixon, Craven Dales:
      There were a gay bit of lace on it.
    • 1881, Edwin Waugh, Tufts of Heather, I. 106:
      T'country-side was rid on him for a gay while.
    • 1895, Sir Hall Caine, The Shadow of a Crime: A Cumbrian Romance, page 131:
      "He has a gay bit of gumption in him, has Ray. It'll be no kitten play to catch hold on him, and they know that they do." The emphasis was accompanied by a lowered tone, and a sidelong motion of the head towards a doorway […]
    • 1903, Robert Smith Surtees, Handley Cross, New York: D. Appleton, page 431:
      "It's a gay bit off, though." "Trot on!" retorted Mr. Jorrocks anxiously, spurring Arterxerxes vehemently, an insult that the animal resented by a duck of his head and a hoist of his heels. Bump, bump, trot, trot, squash, splash, swosh, they went  ...
Usage notes
  • The predominant use of gay in recent decades has been in the sense homosexual, or in the pejorative sense. 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 it.
  • 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 homosexual(ity) does not express the emotional aspects of sexual orientation.
  • In the broad political sense, gay usually refers to anything pertaining to same-sex relationships, whether male or female: gay rights and gay marriage. When used in coordination with other terms for sexual orientations, it usually specifically refers to men who are attracted only to men, and excludes lesbians, bisexuals and other orientations, as in phrases like lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB). Context is sometimes necessary to determine whether or not gay implies male in a given phrase.
  • Since at least the 1950s, gay has sometimes been used as a broad umbrella term for all queer and gender-nonconforming (transgender and genderqueer/non-binary) people, similar to LGBTQ.[9][10][11]
Synonyms
Derived terms
sexual sense
other senses
Descendants
  • → Cantonese: 基 (gei1)
    • → Mandarin: 基 (jī)
  • → Catalan: gai
  • → Esperanto: geja
  • → French: gay
  • → German: gay
  • → Greek: γκέι (gkéi)
  • → Irish: aerach (calque)
  • → Italian: gay
  • → Japanese: ゲイ (gei)
  • → Mandarin: gay (gèi)
  • → Portuguese: gay, guei (adapted spelling)
  • → Romanian: gay
  • → Spanish: gay
  • → Telugu: గే (gē)
  • → Thai: เกย์ (gee)
  • → Turkish: gey
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

gay (plural gays)

  1. (now chiefly in the plural) A homosexual, especially a male homosexual.
    Coordinate term: lesbian
    • 1969, “N.Y. Gays: Will the Spark Die?”, in The Advocate‎[8]:
      [headline] N.Y. Gays: Will the Spark Die?
    • 1974, Earl Wilson, Show Business Laid Bare‎[9]:
      "Same-sex dancing, as we call it, is quite legal," a gay named Lew Todd, who was one of the spokesmen, spoke up.
    • 2003, Marilyn J. Davidson, Sandra L. Fielden, Individual Diversity and Psychology in Organizations, page 73:
      Yet that does not mean that the issues, concerns and attitudes of gays and lesbians in the workplace are not important.
    • 2004, Betty Berzon, Permanent Partners: Building Gay & Lesbian Relationships That Last, page 20:
      Older gays and lesbians often relegate themselves to separate and unequal meeting places.
    • 2012, Todd J. Ormsbee, The Meaning of Gay, page 313:
      On June 28, 1970, young gays in the city held a “Gay-in” in Golden Gate Park, and Gay Sunshine ran a photo of some of the participants in their inaugural issue […]
  2. (dialectal, obsolete) Something which is bright or colorful, such as a picture or a flower.
    • 1839, Charles Clark, John Noakes and Mary Styles, st. 157:
      At a stall soon Mary bote / A hume-book full ov gays.
    • 1892, P. H. Emerson, A Son of the Fens, page 73:
      I had no books to read, but plenty of gays to look at.
    • 1893, Cozens-Hardy, Broad Nrf., page 38:
      ‘Can't you mow the aftermath in the churchyard before Sunday?’ ‘Not time enough, sir, but I'll cut off they gays.’
    • a. 1900, W. R. Eaton of Norfolk, quoted in 1900, Joseph Wright, The English Dialect Dictionary:
      There's a good child; look at the gays, and keep quiet.
  3. (obsolete) An ornament, a knick-knack.
    • 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:
      Look upon precepts in emblems, as they do to upon gays and pictures.
    • 1906, Cornish Notes & Queries: (first Series) (Cornish Telegraph, Peter Penn), page 132:
      If however the stranger be suspected of “sailing under false colours," when they are all in familiar chat about nothing in particular, “Cousin Jacky” will take occasion to say to the new chum, “My dear; ded 'e ever see a duck clunk a gay?" […] no more deceived by him than a duck can be made to clunk (swallow) a gay (fragment of broken crockery).
Usage notes
  • Gay may be regarded as offensive when used as a noun to refer to particular individuals.[12]
  • Gay is sometimes used broadly to refer to any man who is attracted to and/or sexually active with other men, or any woman attracted to or active with other women, even if not exclusively, e.g. if their orientation is in fact bisexual.[13]
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

gay (third-person singular simple present gays, present participle gaying, simple past and past participle gayed)

  1. (transitive, dated, uncommon) To make happy or cheerful. [since at least the 1920s]
    • 1922, Thomas Hardy, Late lyrics and earlier: with many other verses, page 119:
      SAYING GOOD-BYE (song)
      WE are always saying / "Good-bye, good-bye! / In work, in playing, / In gloom, in gaying […]
    • 1952, American Childhood, volume 38, page 2:
      Gaying Things Up For Christmas. JESSIE TODD, Laboratory School, University of Chicago.
      EVERY schoolroom in America is gayed up for Christmas.
  2. (transitive, uncommon) To cause (something, e.g. AIDS) to be associated with homosexual people. [popularized in the 1990s]

Adverb

gay

  1. (Scotland, Northern England) Considerably, very.
    • 1833, John Sim Sands, Poems on Various Subjects, page 115:
      And, tho' his guts ware lank and toom, / They're twice as big's this gay big room.
    • 1869, Joseph Carr, Sketches of village life, by “Eavesdropper”, page 60:
      Now, to end my story, if o' t' village beauties wad git t' religion that good auld parson Jenkins recommends, it wad gay sharply mak' t' dirty women clean, […]
    • 1875, Dickinson, Cumbriana; Or, Fragments of Cumbrian Life, page 8:
      […] an' be t' Silver Cwove, an' than throo t' Pillar, an' a gay rough bit o' grund it is!
    • 1886, Thomas Farrall, Betty Wilson's Cummerland Teals, section 42:
      When a fellah com' in 'at was gay free wid spendin.
    • 1892-3, Mrs. Humphry Ward, The History of David Grieve, volume I, page 19:
      She'll mak naw moor mischeef neets—she's gay quiet now!
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): [1].
  3. ^ Louis Guinet, Les emprunts gallo-romans au germanique (Paris: Klincksieck, 1982).
  4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*ganhu-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎[2], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 167f.
  5. ^ Anatoly Liberman (2012 February 1) “The deep roots of gaiety”, in OUPblog
  6. ^ Blackmer, Corrine E (1995), "Gertrude Stein", in Claude J. Summers, The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage, →ISBN
  7. ^ Gertrude Stein (1922) “Miss Furr and Miss Skeene”, in Geography and Plays:
    They stayed there and were gay there, not very gay there, just gay there. They were both gay there, they were regularly working there both of them cultivating their voices there, they were both gay there. Georgine Skeene was gay there and she was regular, regular in being gay, regular in not being gay, regular in being a gay one who was one not being gay longer than was needed to be one being quite a gay one. They were both gay then there and both working there then.
  8. ^ Robert K. Barnhart, ed., Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, s.v. “gay” (Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, [2008], c1988), 425.
  9. ^ Stephan Cohen, The Gay Liberation Youth Movement in New York: ‘An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail’ (2007, →ISBN), quoting Sylvia Rivera: "'If you want Gay Power, then you're going to have to fight for it. And you're going to have to fight until you win.' For Rivera, 'gay' meant non-heteronormative (or 'queer' in today's lexicon), crossing sexual and gender boundaries to include lesbians, gay men, and transvestites, as well as the street youth who had participated in Stonewall."
  10. ^ Rachel Kranz, Tim Cusick, Gay Rights (2014, →ISBN), page 3: For convenience, this volume uses gay, gay rights, and gay people as umbrella terms to include gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals. In some cases transgender people are also included in the term, although many transgender people do not consider themselves gay or lesbian, and at some points in gay history, transgender rights were considered part of the gay rights movement.
  11. ^ Lacey Sloan, Nora Gustavsson, Violence and Social Injustice Against Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People (2014, →ISBN), page 116: Latina lesbians, Latino gays and bisexuals may experience a triple stigma and oppression when they are not fully accepted in the gay community because of their ethnicity[.]
  12. ^ The American Heritage® Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English (1996), "gay"
  13. ^ For example: David Kaufman, Untying the Knot: A Husband and Wife's Story of Coming Out Together (2012, →ISBN): Gays, and apparently lesbians, are discouraged from being openly bisexual. The cultural standard in the gay community is that you have to pick one sex and stick to it.

Etymology 2

From Pitman kay, which it is derived from graphically, and the sound it represents. The traditional name gee was considered inappropriate, as the Pitman letter never has the sound of that name.

Noun

gay (plural gays)

  1. The letter —, which stands for the sound /ɡ/, in Pitman shorthand.
  • gee (in Latin script)

Anagrams

Chinese

Etymology

Borrowed from English gay. Doublet of 基 (jī).

Pronunciation

Dialectal pronunciation

Noun

gay

  1. gay; gay man (Classifier: 個／个)

Derived terms

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from English gay.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈɡɛj]
  • Hyphenation: gay

Noun

gay m anim

  1. gay male
    Synonyms: (vulgar) bukvice, buzík, buzerant, buzna, homokláda; (colloquial, derogatory) homouš, teplouš; (mostly neutral) homosexuál

Declension

Declension of gay (soft masculine animate)
singular plural
nominative gay gayi
genitive gaye gayů
dative gayovi, gayi gayům
accusative gaye gaye
vocative gayi gayi
locative gayovi, gayi gayích
instrumental gayem gayi

Further reading

  • “gay”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Finnish

Etymology

From English gay.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡei̯/, [ˈɡe̞i̯]
  • Rhymes: -ei

Noun

gay (colloquial)

  1. gay

Usage notes

  • Seldom inflected, as this term does not readily fit into Finnish inflection patterns. Instead, corresponding forms of synonymous expressions or compounds such as gay-mies (“gay man”) or gay-poika (“gay boy”) are used.

Declension

Inflection of gay (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative gay gayt
genitive gayn gayiden
gayitten
partitive gaytä gayitä
illative gayhin
gayhyn 		gayihin
singular plural
nominative gay gayt
accusative nom. gay gayt
gen. gayn
genitive gayn gayiden
gayitten
partitive gaytä gayitä
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
abessive gayttä gayittä
instructive — gayin
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of gay (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative gayni gayni
accusative nom. gayni gayni
gen. gayni
genitive gayni gayideni
gayitteni
partitive gaytäni gayitäni
inessive gayssäni gayissäni
elative gaystäni gayistäni
illative gayhini
gayhyni 		gayihini
adessive gaylläni gayilläni
ablative gayltäni gayiltäni
allative gaylleni gayilleni
essive gaynäni gayinäni
translative gaykseni gayikseni
abessive gayttäni gayittäni
instructive — —
comitative — gayineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative gaysi gaysi
accusative nom. gaysi gaysi
gen. gaysi
genitive gaysi gayidesi
gayittesi
partitive gaytäsi gayitäsi
inessive gayssäsi gayissäsi
elative gaystäsi gayistäsi
illative gayhisi
gayhysi 		gayihisi
adessive gaylläsi gayilläsi
ablative gayltäsi gayiltäsi
allative gayllesi gayillesi
essive gaynäsi gayinäsi
translative gayksesi gayiksesi
abessive gayttäsi gayittäsi
instructive — —
comitative — gayinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative gaymme gaymme
accusative nom. gaymme gaymme
gen. gaymme
genitive gaymme gayidemme
gayittemme
partitive gaytämme gayitämme
inessive gayssämme gayissämme
elative gaystämme gayistämme
illative gayhimme
gayhymme 		gayihimme
adessive gayllämme gayillämme
ablative gayltämme gayiltämme
allative gayllemme gayillemme
essive gaynämme gayinämme
translative gayksemme gayiksemme
abessive gayttämme gayittämme
instructive — —
comitative — gayinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative gaynne gaynne
accusative nom. gaynne gaynne
gen. gaynne
genitive gaynne gayidenne
gayittenne
partitive gaytänne gayitänne
inessive gayssänne gayissänne
elative gaystänne gayistänne
illative gayhinne
gayhynne 		gayihinne
adessive gayllänne gayillänne
ablative gayltänne gayiltänne
allative gayllenne gayillenne
essive gaynänne gayinänne
translative gayksenne gayiksenne
abessive gayttänne gayittänne
instructive — —
comitative — gayinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative gaynsä gaynsä
accusative nom. gaynsä gaynsä
gen. gaynsä
genitive gaynsä gayidensä
gayittensä
partitive gaytään
gaytänsä 		gayitään
gayitänsä
inessive gayssään
gayssänsä 		gayissään
gayissänsä
elative gaystään
gaystänsä 		gayistään
gayistänsä
illative gayhinsä
gayhynsä 		gayihinsä
adessive gayllään
gayllänsä 		gayillään
gayillänsä
ablative gayltään
gayltänsä 		gayiltään
gayiltänsä
allative gaylleen
gayllensä 		gayilleen
gayillensä
essive gaynään
gaynänsä 		gayinään
gayinänsä
translative gaykseen
gayksensä 		gayikseen
gayiksensä
abessive gayttään
gayttänsä 		gayittään
gayittänsä
instructive — —
comitative — gayineen
gayinensä

Synonyms

Further reading

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English gay, itself a borrowing from French gai. Doublet of gai.

Pronunciation

Noun

gay m (plural gays)

  1. gay (homosexual person)

Gamilaraay

Etymology

Snake tracks were carefully avoided as treading on one was thought to cause skin sores. The cart tracks of the early European explorer Mitchell were thought to be giant snake tracks.

Pronunciation

Noun

gay

  1. snake track

References

  • Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay Yuwaalayaay Dictionary 2003

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English gay.

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay (strong nominative masculine singular gayer, not comparable)

  1. gay
    Synonym: schwul

Further reading

  • “gay” in Duden online
  • “gay” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Indonesian

Etymology

From English gay.

Pronunciation

Noun

gay (plural gay-gay)

  1. gay, homosexual
    Synonym: homo

Further reading

Interlingua

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay (comparative plus gay, superlative le plus gay)

  1. (LGBTQ, sexuality) gay

Noun

gay (plural gays)

  1. gay

Synonyms

See also

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English gay.

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay (invariable)

  1. gay

Noun

gay m or f by sense

  1. gay

References

  1. ^ gay in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Further reading

  • gay in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Lombard

Etymology

Borrowed from English gay.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡei/, [ɡɛj], [ɡeːi]

Adjective

gay m

  1. gay, male homosexual.

Noun

gay m

  1. gay, male homosexual

Maguindanao

Etymology

Akin to Maranao gawi'i.

Noun

gay

  1. day

Manx

Noun

gay f

  1. Eclipsed form of kay.

Mutation

Mutation of kay
radical lenition eclipsis
kay chay gay

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Manx.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Matal

Pronunciation

IPA(key): [ɡáj] [1]

Noun

gay

  1. mouth
    Apokwà gay aŋha aw (Sləray 8:32)[2]
    He did not open his mouth. (Acts 8:32)
  2. language
  3. beginning

References

  1. ^ Rossing, Melvin Olaf (1978) “gay”, in Mafa-Mada: A Comparative Study of Chadic Languages in North Cameroun, Ann Arbor, Michigan: The University of Wisconsin-Madison, page 46
  2. ^ http://listen.bible.is/MFHWYI/Act/8#32

Middle Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French gai.

Adjective

gay

  1. cheerful, happy
Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms
Descendants

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old Northern French gai, from Late Latin gaius, from the Roman name Latin Gaius. Also see Spanish gaya and urraca.

Noun

gay m

  1. jay
  2. parrot
Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms
Descendants

Further reading

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French gai.

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay

  1. joyous, merry

Descendants

References

Middle French

Etymology

Variant of Old French gai, borrowed from Old Occitan gai, possibly of Germanic origin, or from Latin vagus.

Adjective

gay m (feminine singular gaye, masculine plural gays, feminine plural gayes)

  1. cheerful; happy; gay

Descendants

Portuguese

Alternative forms

  • guei (adapted spelling)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English gay. Doublet of gaio.

Pronunciation

 

Adjective

gay m or f (plural gays)

  1. gay
    1. homosexual (involving or relating to same-sex relationships, especially between males)
      Synonyms: homossexual, (slang, derogatory) bicha, (Brazil, slang, derogatory) veado
    2. (figurative, slang) overly sentimental
    3. (figurative, slang) effeminate or flamboyant

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:gay.

Coordinate terms

sexual orientation adjectives: adjetivos de orientação sexualedit

Derived terms

Noun

gay m or f by sense (plural gays)

  1. gay; homosexual (person attracted to others of the same sex), especially a male homosexual
    Synonyms: homossexual, (slang, derogatory) bicha, (Brazil, slang, derogatory) veado
  2. (slang, derogatory) a person who lame, stupid or shows any other unpleasant characteristics

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:gay.

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English gay.

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay m or f or n (indeclinable)

  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.

Declension

Declension of gay (invariable)
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative 		indefinite gay gay gay gay
definite — — — —
genitive-
dative 		indefinite gay gay gay gay
definite — — — —

Scots

Adverb

gay

  1. fairly, considerably

Sori-Harengan

Noun

gay

  1. water

References

  • Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English gay.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡei/ [ˈɡei̯]
  • IPA(key): /ˈɡai/ [ˈɡai̯]
    • Rhymes: -ai
    • Syllabification: gay

Adjective

gay m or f (masculine and feminine plural gays or gais)

  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.

Derived terms

Noun

gay m or f by sense (plural gays or gais)

  1. a homosexual person, gay person

Usage notes

References

  1. ^ gays,gais at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.

Further reading

Swedish

Adjective

gay (comparative mer gay, superlative mest gay)

  1. (only used predicatively) gay, homosexual
    Synonyms: homosexuell, (male, possibly offensive) bög, lesbisk, (female, possibly offensive) lebb, (female, possibly offensive) flata

Derived terms

References

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Adjective

gay • (咳, 垓, 荄)

  1. difficult; hard

Derived terms

Yola

Adjective

gay

  1. Alternative form of gaaye
    • 1927, THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD:
      Gay Rochfort
      Gay Rochford

References

  • Kathleen A. Browne (1927) “THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD.”, in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of lreland (Sixth Series)‎[11], volume 17, number 2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 128
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