How ‘Gay’ Came to Mean ‘Homosexual’

gay etymology and history

Democratic printial ndidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a history of repeatedly sharg unfound nspiraci that man-ma chemils the environment uld be makg children gay or transgenr and g the femizatn of boys and masculizatn of girls.

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GAY (ADJ.)

GAY Meang: "full of joy, merry; light-hearted, reee;" also "wanton, lewd, lasciv" (late 12c. as a surname,… See orig and meang of gay. * gay etymology and history *

Gay (adj.

As a surname, Philipp Gay), om Old French gai "joyful, happy; pleasant, agreeably charmg; forward, pert; light-lored" (12c.

; pare Old Spanish gayo, Portugue ga, Italian gajo, probably French loan-words). )) word gay by the 1890s had an overall tge of promiscuy — a gay hoe was a brothel. The suggtn of immoraly the word n be traced back at least to the 1630s, if not to Chcer:But oure bed he was so sh and gay.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Whan that he wol han my bele slang meang "homosexual" (adj.

) begs to appear psychologil wrg the late 1940s, evintly picked up om gay slang and not always easily distguished om the olr sense:After discharge A.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY ETYMOLOGY AND HISTORY

A brief history of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr social movements.

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