For starters.

[somekindarealis]

Where did gay ever come from? What's the point? It's supposed to be an olde tyme way of saying 'happy'? Right? Why did people choose to lose that?


Isn't that a bummer...
Anyways... Hello.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

19th century and earlier Gay meant happy or joyful, derived from France.

Around the early-middle 20th century it was adopted as a slur, along with "fey".

Around the 1960's queer folk owned the slur and made it their own.

Around the middle to late 1990's gay became a negative in common language, as in 'That car is so gay'.

English is a living language. Not only does the meaning of words change, but new words are being introduced all the time.

Most notably for the 21st century we have words like bromance, and Google which is now a pronoun and a verb - go ahead Google it.

And Welcome to Gayspeak.

[somekindarealis]

Thanks for that brief info.

Have a good day.

[MrMom]

"...and I feel so gay in a melancholy way that it might as well be Spring..."

Shit, the ultimate Gay --- you've got me running around singing old show tunes...

[CellarDweller]

welcome to the forum

[50Plus]

Hello somekind

BA did good intro. If we are to truly honor the word, we need to turn to the all knowing all seeing all powerful, the mighty god of the internet, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gay since the 1960s (by reapprobation) has most commonly referred to a male (and later also female) whose sexual orientation is attraction to persons of the same sex.

As an adjective gay may also refer to:
in the historically primary meaning of the word, a term for jollity or Eudaimonia
a slang expression for hedonism
slang expression for sexual promiscuity,
a derogative slang expression for effeminacy
a derogative slang expression with a general meaning "pathetic, inferor",


Places (lots in the US, and I thought the US was predominantly homophobic)
Gay, Armenia, a town
Gay, Russia, several inhabited localities in Russia
Gay, Georgia, United States, a town
Gay, Michigan, United States, an unincorporated community
Gay, West Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
Gay Township, Taylor County, Iowa, United States
Gay Street (Baltimore), Maryland, United States
Gay Street (Knoxville), Tennessee, United States
Gay Street (Manhattan), New York, United States
Gay Street, Bath, Somerset, England
Gay Hill, Texas, three ghost towns in Texas, United States.

People
Gay (given name)
Gay (surname)

Other uses
Tropical Storm Gay, several tropical cyclones
Gay class fast patrol boat, twelve boats that served with the British Royal Navy from the early 1950s
Gay?, EP by indie rock band 12 Rods
G-A-Y, a nightclub in London
Gay (magazine), Toronto, Canada's first gay magazine
Gaya Airport, IATA airport code GAY
Gayo language, ISO code gay

[Iceblink]

Hello somekindarealis! Welcome to GS. This is a fun place. We'll have a yabba dabba doo time, a dabba doo time, we'll have a gay old time...

[Jaxx37]

Hello and welcome to GS

[Jake]

Hello somekindarealis! Welcome to GS. This is a fun place. We'll have a yabba dabba doo time, a dabba doo time, we'll have a gay old time...

Damn you make me feel old now hahahaha

[polfsky]

This thread turned out educational. :-)

Does anyone name their baby Gaylord any more?