see|Gay
wikipedia|dab=Gay (disambiguation)|Gay
English

Etymology
From OF. gai, of uncertain origin. Possibly from L. gaudium �joy�. (w:Friedrich Christian Diez|Friedrich Christian Diez has suggested that it comes from MHG.. The sense of "homosexual" is said by some to have come from an Arabic word via French; it is also said to come from the word's older sense of "dissolute".) The sense of �upright�, used in reference to a dog�s tail, probably derives from the �happy� sense of the word.

Adjective
en-adj|er|more

1. dated happy|Happy, joyful, and lively.

#* 1810: Samuel Johnson, The Life of Thomas Yalden." The Works of the English Poets from Chaucer to Cowper; including the Series Edited with Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, by Dr. Samuel Johnson: and the Most Approved Translations, Alexander Chalmers, editor|ed; 21 volumes, London, C. Wittingham, 1810
#*: Never was there a more copious fancy or greater reach of wit than what appears in Dr. Donne; nothing can be more gallant or genteel 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.

1. dated festive|Festive, bright, or colourful.

#: Don we now our gay apparel â�� (Deck the Halls ¹)
#: Pennsylvania Dutch include the plain folk and the gay folk.

1. homosexual|Homosexual.
2. colloquial Characteristic of homosexual appearance or behavior (often in a stereotypical sense).

#* 2005: Jason Christopher Hartley, Just Another Soldier: a year on the ground in Iraq
#*: 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. One could write volumes about the homophobically homoerotic undercurrents in the infantry.

1. feminine|Feminine in behavior, or, non-masculine, behaving in a way associated with females.
2. context|slang|pejorative Used to express dislike: lame|Lame, uncool.

#* 2000, Nancy Updike, That's So Gay'', Salon
#*: [Y]ou or someone you know has declared something gay in the last week. Not gay as in homosexual, but gay in that grade-school "That is so gay!" way, i.e. lame, wrongheaded, queer in the original sense. This is happening all around you. That woman�s hairdo? Gay. That book jacket? Gay. The fact that Dick and Lynne Cheney won�t talk about their lesbian daughter? Gay gay gay.
#: This game is gay, let�s play a different one.'' = I dislike this game, let�s play a different one.

1. context|of a dog's tail upright|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
Gay is almost exclusively used today in the sense of homosexual and the related senses. The earlier uses of festive, colorful and bright can still be found, but have fallen out of fashion and are liable to be misunderstood, though if used in a way that suggests that a fashion is common among homosexuals, the two meanings do not necessarily contradict.
Gay is preferred to homosexual by many gay (homosexual) people as their own term for themselves, claiming that homosexual is dated and evokes a time when homosexuality was considered a mental illness by the mental health community.
Using gay to mean "lame, uncool" may be considered offensive.

Synonyms
(lame, uncool:) ghey

Translations
trans-top|happy, joyful and lively
Bulgarian: ве�ел :bg:ве�ел|(bg), безг�ижен :bg:безг�ижен|(bg)
Catalan: gai, gaia
Danish: glad, livlig
Dutch: vrolijk
Esperanto: gaja
Estonian: lustlik
Finnish: iloinen, eläväinen, hilpeä
French: gai m :fr:gai|(fr), gaie f :fr:gaie|(fr)
German: fröhlich :de:fröhlich|(de), lustig :de:lustig|(de), ausgelassen :de:ausgelassen|(de)
Greek: �αιδ��� (feðrós) m, ε�θ�μο� (éfθimos) m, ζ�η��� (zoirós) m
Hebrew: he-translation|ע���|alíz m, he-translation|ע����|alizá f
Interlingua: gaudiose
Hungarian: boldog
trans-mid
Italian: gaio m, gaia f, lieto m, lieta f, allegro m, allegra f, felice m|f
Japanese: ��� (����, ureshii), 楽�� (����, tanoshii)
Malay: gembira, suka
Maltese: ferħan m, ferħana f, allegruż m, allegruża f
Norwegian: festlig, glad#Norwegian|glad, livlig,
Polish: weso�y, radosny
Persian: FAchar|خ�ش حا� (khosh-hall)
Portuguese: alegre, feliz, contente
Russian: ве��л�й (vesyólyj)
Swedish: glad#Swedish|glad, lustig
Spanish: feliz, alegre
Turkish: ne�eli :tr:ne�eli|(tr), canlı :tr:canlı|(tr)
Welsh: siriol, llawen
trans-bottom

trans-top|festive, bright, colorful
Bulgarian: �а�ен :bg:�а�ен|(bg)
Catalan: gai, gaia
Danish: sjov, farverig
Finnish: iloinen, korea#Finnish|korea
French: gai m :fr:gai|(fr), gaie f :fr:gaie|(fr)
German: bunt :de:bunt|(de)
Greek: ε�θ�μο� (éfθimos) m, �α�δαλ�� (pardalós) m
Hungarian: boldog
Interlingua: gaudiose
trans-mid
Italian: gaio, allegro
Japanese: 派�� (���, hade-na)
Malay: warna-warni
Norwegian: morsom, festlig, fargerik
Portuguese: festivo, vívido
Russian: ��кий (járkij, vivid), �ве�ной (tsvetnój, colourful)
Swedish: grann
Turkish: parlak :tr:parlak|(tr), canlı :tr:canlı|(tr), �en :tr:�en|(tr), iç açıcı :tr:iç açıcı|(tr), renkli :tr:renkli|(tr)
Welsh: siriol, llawen
trans-bottom

trans-top|homosexual
Afrikaans: gay#Afrikaans|gay, moffie, homoseksueel
Arabic: ARchar|�ث��|��ث����� m, ARchar|�ث��ة|��ث������ة f
Bulgarian: �омо�ек��ален :bg:�омо�ек��ален|(bg)
Catalan: gai
Chinese: ���, ��� (tóngxìngliàn); ����, ���� (tóngxìngliàn zh�); (slang) �� (tóngzhì)
Danish: bøsse (men), lesbisk (women), homoseksuel
Dutch: homoseksueel, homofiel
Esperanto: samseksema, samseksema|samseksama, geja
Estonian: gei, homoseksuaalne, homoseksuaal
Filipino: bakla (men), tibo (women)
Finnish: homo#Finnish|homo-, homoseksuaalinen
French: gai :fr:gai|(fr), gay#French|gay :fr:gay|(fr), homo#French|homo :fr:homo|(fr)
German: homosexuell :de:homosexuell|(de), schwul (of men) :de:schwul|(de), lesbisch (of women) :de:lesbisch|(de)
Greek: ομο��λ���λο� (omofilófilos) m, ομο��λ���λη (omofilófili) f, λε�βία (lesvía) f, slang: �ο���η� (pústis) m, αδε��ή (aderfí) f
Hebrew: he-translation|����|hómo m, he-translation|�ס��ת|lésbit f
Hungarian: meleg
Italian: gay#Italian|gay, omosessuale, frocio, finocchio, checca
trans-mid
Japanese: ��� (������, d�sei ai), �� (��, gei)
Malay: homoseksual
Maltese: gay#Maltese|gay, omosesswali, pufta, linfa, sissi, mxaqleb,
Norwegian: homoseksuell, homo, homse, soper
Polish: gej
Portuguese: bicha, veado m, gay#Portuguese|gay
Persian: FAchar|��ج�س گرا (hamjens-garaa)
Russian: гей (gej), ле�би�нка (lezbijánka), гол�бой (golubój), �озова� (rózovaja), педик (pédik) m, пида�а� (pidarás) m, пед�ило (pedrílo) m
Scottish Gaelic: co-sheòrsach
Swedish: homosexuell, homo, gay#Swedish|gay; bög
Spanish: gay#Spanish|gay, homosexual
Turkish: homo :tr:homo|(tr), homoseksüel :tr:homoseksüel|(tr), ibne :tr:ibne|(tr) (rude)
Welsh: hoyw
trans-bottom

trans-top|typical of homosexual appearance
Catalan: gai
Finnish: homo#Finnish|homo-
French: gai :fr:gai|(fr), gay#French|gay :fr:gay|(fr), homo#French|homo :fr:homo|(fr)
Greek: αδε��ί��ικο� (aderfístikos) m, �ο���ικο� (pústikos) m
trans-mid
German: schwul (of men) :de:schwul|(de)
Italian: gay#Italian|gay, finocchio
Norwegian: homo, homsete
Russian: мане�н�й (manérnyj, camp), гол�бой (golubój)
Swedish: homosexuell, homo, gay#Swedish|gay
trans-bottom

trans-top|behaving in a way associated with females
Swedish: bögig (of men)
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|lame, uncool (used to express dislike)
German: schwul :de:schwul|(de)
Japanese: ��� (dasai), ����� (tsumaranai)
trans-mid
Malay: membosankan
Maltese: pufta
Portuguse: chato, pouco atraente, ruim, farjuto or fajuto
trans-bottom

<!-- trans-top|upright (of a dog's tail)
trans-mid
trans-bottom -->

Translations to be checked
checktrans

ttbc|Volapük: lefredik (1, 2), otgeniälik (3)

Derived terms
gaiety, gayety
gaydom
gayness

Noun
en-noun

1. (especially in plural or attributive) a homosexual, especially a male homosexual; see also lesbian.

Usage notes
According to one source, "gay may be regarded as offensive when used as a noun to refer to particular individuals."^²

Swahili: msenge, basha
Swedish: homosexuell c, bög c (male), flata c (female)
Spanish: gay#Spanish|gay m, lesbiana f
trans-bottom

Related terms
gay bar
gay bashing, gay-bashing, gaybashing
gaydar
gay marriage
gay pride
gay rights

Dictionary notes
MSN Encarta Dictionary lists 5 adjective senses, marking "merry", "bright", "carefree", and "debauched" as dated, leaving only "homosexual" unmarked.

Category:Dictionary notes
Category:Positive words

cs:gay
et:gay
es:gay
fr:gay
ko:gay
io:gay
it:gay
ku:gay
hu:gay
pt:gay
ro:gay
ru:gay
sr:gay
fi:gay
te:gay
vi:gay
tr:gay
zh:gay

• 2007-12-30 04:23 - Stephen G. Brown - Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/130.13.73.163|130.13.73.163]] ([[User_talk:130.13.73.163|Talk]]); changed back to last version by [[User:Versageek|Versageek]]

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