The Gay Christian - The Struggle Within

The word "gay" arrived in English during the 12th century from Old French gai, most likely deriving ultimately from a Germanic source.[1] For most of its life in English, the word's primary meaning was "joyful", "carefree", "bright and showy", and the word was very commonly used with this meaning in speech and literature. For example, the optimistic 1890s are still often referred to as the Gay Nineties. By the late 20th century, however, "gay" had become rare in this sense and, if so used, seemed either innocent or antiquated.[citation needed] The derived abstract noun gaiety remains largely free of sexual connotations, although it has in the past been used in the names of places of entertainment; one of Oscar Wilde's favourite venues in Dublin was the Gaiety Theatre.