Help answer a dumb question for me - how did the word "GAY" become associated with homosexuality

[LynneSin]

Mind you 100 years ago if you were Gay you were just a happy person. I remember back at girl scount camp someone called me 'gay' and I said 'well yes, I'm happy'.

Just curious.

[PeaceNikki]

1. Google is cool

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gay

gay
1178, "full of joy or mirth," from O.Fr. gai "gay, merry" (12c.); cf. O.Sp. gayo, Port. gaio, It. gajo. Ultimate origin disputed; perhaps from Frank. *gahi (cf. O.H.G. wahi "pretty"), though not all etymologists accept this. Meaning "brilliant, showy" is from c.1300. OED gives 1951 as earliest date for slang meaning "homosexual" (adj.), but this is certainly too late; gey cat "homosexual boy" is attested in N. Erskine's 1933 dictionary of "Underworld & Prison Slang;" the term gey cat (gey is a Scot. variant of gay) was used as far back as 1893 in Amer.Eng. for "young hobo," one who is new on the road and usually in the company of an older tramp, with catamite connotations. But Josiah Flynt <"Tramping With Tramps," 1905> defines gay cat as, "An amateur tramp who works when his begging courage fails him." Gey cats also were said to be tramps who offered sexual services to women. The "Dictionary of American Slang" reports that gay (adj.) was used by homosexuals, among themselves, in this sense since at least 1920. Rawson <"Wicked Words"> notes a male prostitute using gay in reference to male homosexuals (but also to female prostitutes) in London's notorious Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889. Ayto <"20th Century Words"> calls attention to the ambiguous use of the word in the 1868 song "The Gay Young Clerk in the Dry Goods Store," by U.S. female impersonator Will S. Hays. The word gay in the 1890s had an overall tinge of promiscuity -- a gay house was a brothel. The suggestion of immorality in the word can be traced back to 1637. Gay as a noun meaning "a (usually male) homosexual" is attested from 1971.

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2. it stands for

Good As You ! G.A.Y <Good-As-You>

G.A.Y <Good-As-You> This page is about being gay and being proud of it too. nah seriously be gay, be happy, and most importantly be PROUD!!! Gays are loved WORLDWIDE!!!!!! OK ...
good-as-you.bebo.com/ good-as-you.bebo.com/

[geardaddy]

3. That's what I heard.

n/t

[LynneSin]

4. Why do you want to kill Mother Earth.....

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/01/12/2009-01-12_study_google_searches_bad_for_environmen.html

Study: Google searches bad for environment
BY CATEY HILL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, January 12th 2009, 11:15 AM

Related News
Articles

Yes, it's in to be green. Millions of people are rushing to make their lives more eco-friendly. From recycling programs to LEED-certified buildings to hybrid cars, we're jumping on the green bandwagon.

But despite your best efforts to go green, you may be harming the environment by doing something you likely do every single day: using Google.

Researchers have discovered that when a person performs two Google searches on their desktop computer they are creating about the same amount of carbon dioxide as would be produced if they had boiled a cup of tea, according to the Times Online.

CO2 is believed to contribute to global warming.

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5. Sorry I had no idea

I will use it no longer. I knew I was right about it and didn't think you would believe it if I didn't provide a link