Definitions for gay
geɪgay

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. homosexual, homophile, homo, gayadjective

   someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex

2. cheery, gay, sunnyadjective

   bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer

   "a cheery hello"; "a gay sunny room"; "a sunny smile"

3. gay, jocund, jolly, jovial, merry, mirthfuladjective

   full of or showing high-spirited merriment

   "when hearts were young and gay"; "a poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company"- Wordsworth; "the jolly crowd at the reunion"; "jolly old Saint Nick"; "a jovial old gentleman"; "have a merry Christmas"; "peals of merry laughter"; "a mirthful laugh"

4. gayadjective

   given to social pleasures often including dissipation

   "led a gay Bohemian life"; "a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies"

5. brave, braw, gayadjective

   brightly colored and showy

   "girls decked out in brave new dresses"; "brave banners flying"; "`braw' is a Scottish word"; "a dress a bit too gay for her years"; "birds with gay plumage"

6. gay, festal, festive, merryadjective

   offering fun and gaiety

   "a festive (or festal) occasion"; "gay and exciting night life"; "a merry evening"

7. gay, queer, homophile(a)adjective

   homosexual or arousing homosexual desires

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gaynoun

   from the word gay, "joyful"; rare today.

2. Gaynoun

   . Also a shortened form of Gabriel, Gaylord and similar names, or transferred from the surname.

3. Gaynoun

   An English surname, originally a nickname for a cheerful or lively person.

4. Gaynoun

   A female given name from English from the word gay, "joyful"; rare today.

5. Gaynoun

   A male given name from English. Also a shortened form of Gabriel, Gaylord and similar names, or transferred from the surname.

   - - - my father's father, Gaetano Talese, was an atypically fearless traveler,

6. Etymology: : From Pitman kay, which it is derived from graphically, and the sound it represents. The traditional name gee was considered inappropriate, as the Pitman letter never has the sound of that name.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. GAYadjective

   Etymology: gay, French.

   1. Airy; chearful; merry; frolick.

   Smooth flow the waves, the zephyrs gently play;
   Belinda smil’d, and all the world was gay. Alexander Pope.

   Ev’n rival wits did Voiture’s fate deplore,
   And the gay mourn’d, who never mourn’d before. Alexander Pope.

   2. Fine; showy.

   A virgin that loves to go gay. Bar. vi. 9.

2. Gaynoun

   An ornament; an embellishment.

   Etymology: from the adjective.

   Morose and untractable spirits look upon precepts in emblem, as they do upon gays and pictures, the fooleries of so many old wives tales. Roger L'Estrange.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gay

   excited with merriment; manifesting sportiveness or delight; inspiring delight; livery; merry

2. Gay

   brilliant in colors; splendid; fine; richly dressed

3. Gay

   loose; dissipated; lewd

4. Gaynoun

   an ornament

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Gay

   Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term was originally used to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy". The term's use as a reference to homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the 20th century. In modern English, "gay" has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the people, especially to males, and the practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. By the end of the 20th century, the word "gay" was recommended by major LGBT groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. In the Anglosphere, this connotation, among younger speakers, has a derisive meaning equivalent to rubbish or stupid. In this use, the word does not mean "homosexual", so it can be used, for example, to refer to an inanimate object or abstract concept of which one disapproves. This usage can also refer to weakness or unmanliness. When used in these ways, the extent to which it still retains connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Gay

   gā, adj. lively: bright: sportive, merry: wanton, dissipated, of loose life: showy: (prov.) spotted.—adv. (Scot.) fairly, considerably.—ns. Gai′ety, Gay′ety, Gay′ness.—advs. Gai′ly, Gay′ly; Gay′some, gladsome.&mdashmdash;Gay science, a rendering of gai saber, the Provençal name for the art of poetry. [O. Fr. gai—Old High Ger. wâhi, pretty, not gâhi, swift (Diez).]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. gay

   Quotes by gay -- Explore a large variety of famous quotes made by gay on the Quotes.net website.

2. GAY

   What does GAY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the GAY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. GAY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Gay is ranked #1094 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Gay surname appeared 32,025 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 would have the surname Gay.
   
   70.7% or 22,648 total occurrences were White.
   22.5% or 7,209 total occurrences were Black.
   2.3% or 743 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.8% or 599 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   1.8% or 589 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.7% or 234 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'gay' in Adjectives Frequency: #718

Anagrams for gay »

1. YAG

2. agy

How to pronounce gay?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say gay in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of gay in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of gay in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of gay in a Sentence

1. John Sanford:

   It’s not whether you are gay or transgender or black or white or yellow or pink. To me it doesn’t matter, if you walk through my door I’ll be happy to fix you a plate of barbecue.

2. Cyril Legann:

   No one's going to say 'oh another straight film' but there are cinemas who say 'oh another gay story', we're a long way from equality on that front.

3. Noel Brewer:

   Most young people don’t know they’re gay yet, if they do, they likely haven’t told their parents.

4. Carl Nassib:

   What's up, people, i'm Carl Nassib. I'm at my house here in Westchester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay. I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.

5. Jacqueline Jones:

   I can relate to it all, so many people live these situations. We know how many women go to jail to protect their man or take a bullet for their man. Or maybe you don't have a Cookie in your family, but you may have a gay person or someone who suffers from mental illness.

Popularity rank by frequency of use