[gay] adj [ME, fr. MF gai] (14c) 1 a: happily excited: merry b: keenly alive and exuberant: having or inducing high spirits "abandoned a sober traditional style for one more timely and ~"
2. a: bright, lively "~ sunny meadows" b: brilliant in color
3: given to social pleasures; also: licentious
4. a: homosexual b: of, relating to, or used by homosexuals "the ~ rights movement" "a ~ bar" syn see lively -- gay adv -- gay.ness n
[2]gay n (1953): homosexual