gay
IPA: gˈeɪ
Root Word: Gay
noun
- An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for a cheerful or lively person.
- A female given name from English from the word gay, "joyful"; rare today.
- A male given name from English. Also a shortened form of Gabriel, Gaylord and similar names, or transferred from the surname.
- (now chiefly in the plural) A homosexual, especially a male homosexual.
- (dialectal, obsolete) Something which is bright or colorful, such as a picture or a flower.
- (obsolete) An ornament, a knick-knack.
- The letter —, which stands for the sound /ɡ/, in Pitman shorthand.
verb
- (transitive, dated, uncommon) To make happy or cheerful.
- (transitive, uncommon) To cause (something, e.g. AIDS) to be associated with homosexual people.
adjective
- Homosexual:
- (of a person) Possessing sexual and/or romantic attraction towards people one perceives to be the same sex or gender as oneself.
- (strictly) Describing a homosexual man.
- (of an animal, by extension) Tending to partner or mate with other individuals of the same sex.
- (of a romantic or sexual act or relationship) Between two or more persons perceived to be of the same sex or gender as each other.
- (colloquial) Not heterosexual, or not cisgender: homosexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, etc.
- (of an institution or group) Intended for gay people, especially gay men.
- (slang, with for) Homosexually in love with someone.
- (slang, humorous, with for) Infatuated with something, aligning with homosexual stereotypes.
- In accordance with stereotypes of homosexual people:
- (loosely, of appearance or behavior) Being in accordance with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men.
- (loosely, of a person, especially a man) Exhibiting appearance or behavior that accords with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men.
- A pejorative:
- (slang, derogatory) Effeminate or flamboyant in behavior.
- (slang, derogatory) Used to express dislike: lame, uncool, stupid, burdensome, contemptible, generally bad.
- (dated) Happy, joyful, and lively.
- (dated) Quick, fast.
- (dated) Festive, bright, or colourful.
- (obsolete) Sexually promiscuous (of any gender), (sometimes particularly) engaged in prostitution.
- (of a dog's tail) Upright or curved over the back.
- (Scotland, Northern England, possibly obsolete) Considerable, great, large in number, size, or degree. In this sense, also in the variant gey.
adverb
- (Scotland, Northern England) Considerably, very.
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Examples of "gay" in Sentences
- Gay Hayden died intestate in May 1902.
- The issue of gay rights is incomparable.
- The episode faced the issue of gay dating.
- Casement was gay and McBride was a philanderer.
- One of the values of the movement was gay pride.
- The problem with the neologisms goes beyond gay.
- Not all of the people in the queer cat are gay males.
- In the story, a man meets the woman he loves in a gay orgy bar.
- Crisp was not sympathetic to the Gay Liberation movement of the time.
- Bisexuals are marginalized by both the straight and the Gay community.
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