by Jordan Redman Staff Wrer Do you know what the word gay really means? The word gay dat back to the 12th century and om the Old French “gai,” meang “full of joy or mirth.” It may also relate to the Old High German “gahi,” meang impulsive.
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GAY OLD TIME
gay old time (untable and ununtable, plural gay old tim). Do you know what the word gay really means? The word gay dat back to the 12th century and om the Old French “gai, ” meang “full of joy or mirth.
For centuri, gay was ed monly speech and lerature to mean happy, reee, bright and showy, and did not take on any sexual meang until the 1600s. At that time the meang of gay as reee evolved to imply that a person was unrtraed by morals and prone to nce and promiscuy.
A prostute might have been scribed as a “gay woman” and a womanizer as a “gay man.
THE HISTORY OF THE WORD “GAY”
“Gay hoe” was monly ed to refer to a brothel and, later, “gaiety” was ed as a mon name for certa plac of entertament. In the 1890s, the term “gey t” (a Sttish variant of gay) was ed to scribe a vagrant who offered sexual servic to women or a young traveler who was new to the road and the pany of an olr man.
This latter e suggts that the younger man was a sexually submissive role and may be among the first tim that gay was ed implyg a homosexual relatnship.
A GAY, OLD TIME
In 1951, gay appeared the Oxford English Dictnary for the first time as slang for homosexual, but was most likely ed this way “unrground” at least 30 years earlier. I jt went gay. ” This le (ad-libbed by Grant) n be terpreted to mean that he was behavg a happy-go-lucky or lighthearted way but is accepted by many as the first e of gay to mean homosexual a mastream movie.
Today, gay is a socially acceptable term for homosexual people. When gay is ed today to mean stupid or unsirable ( has only been ed this way sce the 1990s), rri wh a history of negative judgment and rigid ias about who or what is acceptable. As part of the curriculum, Unheard Voic featur a sectn on the word “gay, ” s history and how to e the word properly.
Gay is not a dirty word. Gay is not a bad word. However, gay is not an sult eher.
OUTRAGE OVER THE FLTSTON “GAY OLD TIME”
Unheard Voic released a seri of statements ma by stunts around the Uned Stat on the phrase “that’s gay. Of Oh said, “When I hear ‘that’s so gay, ’ I ’s so ignorant! Copyright The Gayly.
Ah, what a gay old time we're havg. That was a gay old time! 3) Hey, Osr Wil, I hear ya've been havg a gay old time down at the Gentleman's Wrer club.
In 2022 no native speaker would ever take the adjective gay to mean anythg but homosexual, so beware. Those of who grew up wh The Flston are perfectly aware of the archaic meang of "gay" bee of s e old rtoons like this one.