Gay (word)

Gay in modern usage is a term used to describe men that form romantic relationships with other men. It may also refer to men that are attracted to other men, whether such feelings are acted upon or not. This article primarily focuses on the use of the word to refer to males, although the word is also sometimes used more inclusively to refer to the collective grouping of GLBT.

History

The term 'gay' is only relatively recently applied in mainstream culture to refer to male homosexuals, although there are references that reveal usage of the word in this manner going back many decades.

Etymology

The ancient origins of "gay" are uncertain, with some etymologists tracing it to the Old High German gâhi ("swift"), though recent research supports wâhi ("pretty") as a more likely source. The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition) also notes that "The sense ‘slack, not closely fitting’, which exists in all the Romance languages (though not recorded very early in any of them) may possibly be of etymological significance." Its oldest English meaning, attested as early as 1310, is "disposed to joy and mirth"; its use in reference to homosexuality is not recorded until 1935, when the word "geycat" was cited as prison slang for a homosexual boy; the indpendent form "gay" first appears in 1951.

The English word "gay" is also a close relative of the Middle French and Provençal words gaya and gai, meaning, roughly, "joyful." Occitanian poets defined their poetic craft as lo gai saber, or the "joyful knowledge," and the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche borrowed this phrase for his book, Das Fröliche Wissenschaft, often tranlated as "The Gay Science."

Related topics

• Gay community
• GLBT
• Lesbian
• Stonewall riots