English

Proper noun

Gay

1. An English surname​, originally a nickname for a cheerful or lively person.
2. A female given name from the word gay, "joyful"; rare today.
3. A male given name. Also a shortened form of Gabriel, Gaylord and similar names, or transferred from the surname.
   • 1992 Gay Talese, Unto the Sons, Ballantine Books 1993, ISBN 0804110336, page 15

     - - - my father's father, Gaetano Talese ( whose name I inherited after my birth in 1932, in the anglicized from of "Gay"), was an atypically fearless traveler,

   • 2004 Annie Proulx, Bad Dirt, Fourth Estate, ISBN 0007196911, page 32

     "Mr Gay Brawls. What a name."

     "It didn't use to mean what it means now. Plenty were named Gay. Even in Nevada. Was old Gay Pitch had a gas station in Winnemucca. Nobody thought nothin about it and he raised a railroad car of kids.- - -

Anagrams

• YAG

English

The reason behind the recent pejorative usage is not documented, though it is primarily speculated to be 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)

1. (dated) Happy, joyful, and lively.
   • 1405 Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Canterbury Tales (source)

     (Line 221) To bringe me gaye thinges fro the fayre.

     (Line 236) Why is my neighebores wyf so gay?

     (Line 298) That I was born, and make me fresh and gay,

     (Line 508) But in oure bed he was so fressh and gay

     (Line 545) For ever yet I lovede to be gay,

   • 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.

   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Affair at the Novelty Theatre:

     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.

   • 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.

   • Alexander Pope

     Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay.

   • Gray

     Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed.

2. (dated) Festive, bright, or colourful.
   • Milton

     A bevy of fair women, richly gay / In gems and wanton dress.

   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. (obsolete) Sexually promiscuous (of either gender).
   • 1856, Bayle St. John, The Subalpine kingdom: or, Experiences and studies in Savoy, Piedmont, and Genoa, Volume 2 p. 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, House of Commons, Great Britain, Reports from committees, p. 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, Volume 1, p. 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, p. 308

     She imprudently forms the acquaintance of a "gay girl" living in the same street.

   • 1899, Henry Fielding, Edmund Gosse, The works of Henry Fielding with an introduction, Volume 11, p. 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."

4. Homosexual:
   1. (of a person or animal, especially a man) Possessing sexual and emotional attraction towards members of the same gender or sex.
      • 1947, Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques, 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.

      • 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.”)

   2. (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship) 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.

      gay sex, gay acts

   3. (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.

      • 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 **** into a cup and again the majority of the porn was gay.

   4. 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 (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.

5. A pejorative:
   1. (slang, pejorative, dated) Effeminate or flamboyant in behavior.
   2. (slang, pejorative) Used to express dislike: lame, uncool, stupid.

      This game is gay; let’s play a different one. = I dislike this game; 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!"

6. (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

• As of 2016, 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 conjunction with other adjectives, it usually specifically refers to men who are attracted only to men, and excludes lesbians, bisexuals and other sexual orientations: lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB). Context is sometimes necessary to determine whether or not gay implies male in a given phrase.

Synonyms

• (lame, uncool:) ghey
• (community): LGBT

Derived terms

Related terms

• jay

Translations

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): .
3. ↑ Louis Guinet, Les emprunts gallo-romans au germanique (Paris: Klincksieck, 1982).
4. ↑
5. ↑ 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

"Gay may be regarded as offensive when used as a noun to refer to particular individuals."

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:gay

Translations

Related terms

• gay bar
• gay bashing
• gaydar
• gay marriage
• gay pride
• gay rights
• nosegay

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 (an issue, especially AIDS) to be associated with homosexual people. [popularized in the 1990s]

Related terms

• de-gay
• re-gay

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.

Related terms

• gee (in Latin script)

Anagrams

• YAG

Czech

Noun

gay m

1. male gay

Synonyms

• See also homosexuál#Synonyms

Finnish

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈge̞i/

Noun

gay

1. (colloquial) gay

Declension

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.

Synonyms

• homo

French

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛ/
• Homophones: gai, gaie, gaies, gais, gays
• Rhymes: -ɛ

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

• IPA^(key): /ɡaj/

Noun

gay

1. snake track

Reference

• Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay Yuwaalayaay Dictionary 2003

Manx

Noun

gay f

1. Eclipsed form of kay.

Mutation

Middle Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣaːi/

Etymology 1

From Old French gai.

Alternative forms

• gaey

Adjective

gay

1. cheerful, happy

Descendants

• Dutch: gei, gaai

Etymology 2

From Old Northern French gai, from Late Latin gaius.

Alternative forms

• gai

Noun

gay m

1. jay
2. parrot

Descendants

• Dutch: gaai

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French gai.

Adjective

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

1. cheerful; happy; gay

Descendants

• French: gai

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• guei (rare)

Adjective

gay ‎(plural gays, comparable)

1. gay; homosexual (involving or relating to homosexuals)

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:gay.

Synonyms

• homossexual
• bicha (slang, derogatory)
• veado (slang, derogatory)

Derived terms

• kit gay

Noun

gay m f (plural gays)

1. gay; homosexual (person attracted to others of the same sex)

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:gay.

Synonyms

• homossexual
• bicha (slang, derogatory)
• veado (slang, derogatory)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from English gay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡej]

Adjective

gay m, f, n ‎(invariable)

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

Sori-Harengan

Noun

gay

1. water

References

• Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary

Spanish

Etymology

From English gay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡe̞j/

Adjective

gay m, f ‎(plural 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.

Noun

gay m, f ‎(plural gais)

1. a homosexual person, gay person