Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: query: distorted languages?

From:Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Date:Wednesday, August 30, 2000, 5:35
DOUGLAS KOLLER wrote:
> These seem dissimilar examples to me. While I don't know all the ins and > outs of the etymology of "gay", I should think this is just lexical shift.
Partly. The word actually acquired the sense "homosexual" as early as the 1940's, where "gay" is recorded as prison slang for "homosexual". It merely remained out of the mainstream until the 1970's. But, once the meaning "homosexual" had entered mainstream English, *then* it quickly ceased to be used for "happy". -- "Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein ICQ: 18656696 AIM Screen-Name: NikTailor