Where does “Gay” come from?
Gay (English) comes from English Queen, from Middle English quene, from Old English cwene, from Old English cwēn, from Proto-West Germanic kwāni, from Proto-Germanic kwēniz, from Proto-Indo-European gʷḗn, from Proto-Indo-European gʷen- — woman.
Ancestry of “Gay”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Queen | — |
| 2 | Middle English | quene | A queen; Any powerful woman noble; A female... |
| 3 | Old English | cwene | a woman; inflection of cwēn:
##... |
| 4 | Old English | cwēn | queen; woman, wife, queen |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kwāni | woman, wife |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kwēniz | wife |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷḗn | woman |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷen- | woman |