gay
[ gey ]
/ geɪ /
adjective, gay·er, gay·est.
noun
Sometimes Offensive.
a homosexual person, especially a male.
adverb
in a gay manner.
Origin of gay
1275–1325; Middle English
gai < Old French < Germanic; compare Old High German
gāhi ‘fast, sudden’
usage note for gay
The meaning “homosexual” for the word
gay has become so prevalent that people hesitate to use the term in its original senses of “merry, lively” and “bright or showy.” But the word's association with sexuality is not new. The word
gay has had various senses dealing with sexual conduct since the 17th century. A
gay woman was a prostitute, a
gay man a womanizer, a
gay house a brothel. This sexual world included homosexuals too, and
gay as an adjective meaning “homosexual” goes back at least to the late 1930s. After World War II, as social attitudes toward sexuality began to change,
gay was applied openly by homosexuals to themselves, first as an adjective and later as a noun. It is no longer considered slang. Today, the noun often designates only a male homosexual and is usually used as a collective plural:
gays and lesbians . Usage as a singular noun is uncommon and is sometimes perceived as insulting:
He came out as a gay.
In contrast, gay in the sense “awkward, stupid, or bad” is often used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting to gay people. Though some have argued that this sense is independent of the “homosexual” sense, and therefore not homophobic, the argument is weakened by the fact that “homosexual” has long been the dominant meaning of gay, and thus permeates its other usages. See also homosexual.
In contrast, gay in the sense “awkward, stupid, or bad” is often used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting to gay people. Though some have argued that this sense is independent of the “homosexual” sense, and therefore not homophobic, the argument is weakened by the fact that “homosexual” has long been the dominant meaning of gay, and thus permeates its other usages. See also homosexual.
OTHER WORDS FROM gay
gay·ness, noun non·gay, adjective qua·si-gay, adjectiveWords nearby gay
gawk,
gawky,
gawp,
gawra,
gawsy,
gay,
gay gordons,
gay liberation,
gay nineties,
gay power,
gay rights
Definition for gay (2 of 2)
Gay
[ gey ]
/ geɪ /
noun
John,1685–1732,
English poet and dramatist.
a female or male given name.
Example sentences from the Web for gay
British Dictionary definitions for gay (1 of 2)
gay
/ (ɡeɪ) /
adjective
- homosexual
- of or for homosexualsa gay club
- carefree and merrya gay temperament
- brightly coloured; brillianta gay hat
- given to pleasure, esp in social entertainmenta gay life
noun
a homosexual
Derived forms of gay
gayness, nounWord Origin for gay
C13: from Old French
gai, from Old Provençal, of Germanic origin
usage for gay
Gayness is the word used to refer to homosexuality. The noun which refers to being carefree and merry is
gaiety
British Dictionary definitions for gay (2 of 2)
Gay
/ (ɡeɪ) /
noun
John. 1685–1732, English poet and dramatist; author of The Beggar's Opera (1728)
Medical definitions for gay
gay
[ gā ]
adj.
Relating to or having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex.
Cultural definitions for gay
gay
Descriptive term for homosexuals.