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Gay definition

What Does "Gay" Mean?

There is not one right answer

Many educators are unsure how to respond when a student asks you what does same-sex attracted mean. It is improve to try to acknowledge than to respond with silence or evade the question.

Practice different responses with colleagues, just as you practice other things that you want to understand. Figure out what you feel comfortable saying.

Responses will vary by age and developmental stage of the student. Your comfort in answering these questions will set a welcoming tone in your class and school community.

Keep it simple

An answer can be as simple as: “‘Gay’ means two people of the same gender who affection each other – two women or two men.” Try to answer the question honestly without overloading a student with data. Throughout elementary school a student’s ability to realize what “gay” means and what your explanation means may increase with development.

Focus on love and relationships

A discussion with elementary-age students about the meanings of “gay” or “lesbian” is a discussion about treasure and relationships. You can

LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary

GLOSSARY

The terms and definitions below are always evolving, transforming and often mean other things to different people. They are provided below as a starting aim for discussion and awareness. This Glossary has been collectively built and created by the staff members of the LGBTQIA Resource Center since the preliminary s.

These are not universal definitions. This glossary is provided to help offer others a more thorough but not entirely comprehensive understanding of the significance of these terms. You may even consider asking someone what they imply when they use a term, especially when they use it to explain their identity. Ultimately it is most important that each individual define themselves for themselves and therefore also define a designation for themselves.

 

“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -Audre Lorde

This glossary contains terms, such as ableism and disability, that may not be considered directly related to identities of sexuality or gender. T

gayadjective, adverb, & noun

There are 31 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word gay, nine of which are labelled obsolete, and one of which is considered disgusting. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

About 20occurrences per million words in modern written English

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Earliest known use

Middle English

The earliest established use of the word gay is in the Middle English period (—).

OED's earliest evidence for gay is from around , in Ancrene Riwle.

gay is a borrowing from French.

Etymons:Frenchgai.

Nearby entries

  1. gawlin, n–
  2. gawn, n–
  3. gawne, v
  4. gawney, n–
  5. gawp, n–
  6. gawp, v–
  7. gawper, n–
  8. gawpus, n–
  9. gawpy, n–
  10. gawsy, adj–
  11. gay, adj., adv., & n.?c–
  12. gay, v–
  13. gayal, n–
  14. gayatri, n–

    15. by Jordan Redman
    Staff Writer 

    Do you know what the word homosexual really means?

    The word gay dates back to the 12th century and comes from the Mature French “gai,” meaning “full of joy or mirth.” It may also relate to the Former High German “gahi,” meaning impulsive.

    For centuries, gay was used commonly in speech and literature to mean happy, carefree, bright and showy, and did not grab on any sexual meaning until the s.

    At that time the meaning of gay as carefree evolved to imply that a person was unrestrained by morals and prone to decadence and promiscuity. A prostitute might include been described as a “gay woman” and a womanizer as a “gay man.”

    “Gay house” was commonly used to refer to a brothel and, later, “gaiety” was used as a ordinary name for certain places of entertainment.

    In the s, the designation “gey cat” (a Scottish variant of gay) was used to describe a vagrant who offered sexual services to women or a young traveler who was new to the road and in the company of an older man.

    This latter use suggests that the younger man was in a sexually submissive role and may be among the fir