Where does “de-gay” come from?

de-gay (English) comes from English de, from Chinese 德, from Mandarin 德意志, from German Deutsch, from Old High German diutsch, from Old High German diutisc, from Proto-West Germanic þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic þiudiskaz — to swell; to crowd; to be strong.

de-gay (English): To cause to no longer be associated with gay...

Definitions

  1. To cause to no longer be associated with gay...

Ancestry of “de-gay”, step by step

de-gay traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English de

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdeTo do; Pronunciation spelling of the; A...
2Chinese
3Mandarin德意志
4GermanDeutschGerman
5Old High Germandiutsch
6Old High GermandiutiscAlternative form of diutisk; popular, vernacular;...
7Proto-West Germanicþiudiskof the people, popular, vernacular
8Proto-Germanicþiudiskazof the people, popular; of the tribe
9Proto-Germanicþeudōpeople, tribe
10Proto-Indo-Europeantewtéh₂people, tribe
11Proto-Indo-Europeantewh₂-to swell; to crowd; to be strong

via English Gay

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishGayoriginally a nickname for a cheerful or lively person
2EnglishQueenA title used before the personal name of a queen
3Middle EnglishqueneA queen; Any powerful woman noble; A female...
4Old Englishcwenea woman; inflection of cwēn: ##...
5Old Englishcwēnqueen; woman, wife, queen
6Proto-West Germanickwāniwoman, wife
7Proto-Germanickwēnizwife
8Proto-Indo-Europeangʷḗnwoman
9Proto-Indo-Europeangʷen-woman
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tewh₂-Every word from Proto-Indo-European tewtéh₂Every word from Proto-Germanic þeudō