Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “gayspeak” come from?

gayspeak (English) comes from English Gay, 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 — woman.

gayspeak (English): The style of language used by people who are gay,...

Definitions

  1. The style of language used by people who are gay,...

Ancestry of “gayspeak”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishGay—
2EnglishQueen—
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 gʷen- →