homosexual

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Sexually and/or romantically attracted to members of the same sex, such as a man who is attracted to men or a woman who is attracted to women; gay. (Typically used in the sense of sole/exclusive attraction.)
  2. Between two people of the same sex; gay.
  3. Intended for or used by homosexuals, as a nightclub, a bar, etc.
noun
  1. A person who is sexually attracted solely or primarily to others of the same sex.

Pronunciation

/ˌhɒməʊˈsɛksjuːəl/ /ˌhɒməʊˈsɛkʃuːəl/ /ˌhəʊməʊˈsɛksjuːəl/ /ˌhəʊməʊˈsɛkʃuːəl/ en-uk-homosexual.ogg hō'mə-sĕkʹsho͞o-əl hō'mō-sĕkʹsho͞o-əl /ˌhoʊməˈsɛkʃuːəl/ /ˌhoʊmoʊˈsɛkʃuːəl/ en-us-homosexual.ogg

Word forms

homosexual more homosexual most homosexual homosexuals

Etymology

Borrowed from German homosexual, from homo- (“same”) + sexual (“relating to sex or sexuality”), coined by Karl Maria Kertbeny in 1868, and popularized in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (2nd ed. 1887, in German) and Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1892 English translation thereof (compare bisexual), displacing the slightly older term Uranian. Equivalent to homo- + -sexual.

Synonyms

homophile homosexual like that queer similisexual that way gay lesbian same-sex This section is divided into two tables one containing synonyms that generally are not derogatory and one containing those that generally are. However note that the non-derogatory terms can nonetheless be used derogatorily and that some of the derogatory ones are often used humorously and non-derogatorily by gay people and others of either sex* gay invert same-sexer only of men* company man Uranian only of women* lesbian sapphist of either sex* bugger fruit homo moffie only of men* fag faggot finook pole-smoker fairy flamer nance nancy nancy boy pansy poofter queen pederast sodomite swish light in the loafers only of women* lesbo dyke muff-diver carpet muncher scissor sister

Related words

dykey same-sex gay man gay woman happy homosexual person

Translations

Arabic: مِثْلِيّ الْجِنْس Arabic: مِثْلِيّ Arabic: شَاذّ جِنْسِيًّا Arabic: لُوطِيّ Armenian: միասեռական Azerbaijani: homoseksual Belarusian: гамасексуа́льны Belarusian: гомасексуа́льны Bulgarian: хомосексуа́лен Catalan: homosexual Cebuano: bayot Cebuano: bakla Chinese Mandarin: 同性戀的 /同性恋的 Chinese Mandarin: 同性的 Coptic: ⲗⲁⲃⲟⲧⲉ Coptic: ⲗⲁⲃⲟϯ Czech: homosexuální Danish: homoseksuel Dutch: homoseksueel Dutch: van de verkeerde kant Esperanto: samseksema Esperanto: samseksama Faroese: samkyndur Finnish: homoseksuaalinen Finnish: homo French: homosexuel French: homosexuelle Galician: homosexual Georgian: ჰომოსექსუალი German: homosexuell German: schwul Greek: ομοφυλόφιλος Greek: ομοφυλόφιλη Greek: γκέι Greek: λεσβιακή Ancient Greek: κίναιδος Ancient Greek: λάσταυρος Ancient Greek: βάταλος Hebrew: הוֹמוֹסֶקְסוּאָל Hindi: समलैंगिक Hungarian: homoszexuális Icelandic: samkynhneigður Ido: homeosexuala Indonesian: homoseksual Interlingua: homosexual Irish: homaighnéasach Irish: aerach Italian: omosessuale Japanese: 同性愛者 Kazakh: гомосексуалды Khmer: ខ្ទើយ Ladino: omoseksual Lao: ກະເທີຍ Lao: ຮັກຮ່ວມເພດ Latin: cinaedus Latin: cinaedicus Latin: draucus Latin: homosexualis Latvian: homoseksuāls Lithuanian: homoseksualus Lithuanian: homoseksuali Malay: homoseksual Maltese: omosesswali
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