Gay
I read somewhere some time ago that the word "Gay" originated from the theatre.There was a time when women were not permitted to act on stage and so men would don female attire and act out female...
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No, there is no established connection between the theater and the origin of the word "gay." Although, the use of the word to mean brilliant or showy, as in "gay attire," undoubtedly influenced the...
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I vividly remember first hearing it in 1964. The speaker was, not surprisingly, homosexual. Until he explained, I had no idea what he meant. It's my sense that the term was virtually unknown outside...
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I'm fairly sure there are some examples earlier than that, but I haven't got any to hand.In Victorian times the word was used to refer to a (female) prostitute, incidentally.
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