Look up faggot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

This page discusses the history of the term faggot as used to describe gay men. For information on gay men, please see that article. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary logo Wiktionary is a sister project to Wikipedia intended to be a free wiki dictionary (including thesaurus and lexicon) in every language. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ...

Faggot or fag, in modern American usage, is a generally pejorative term for gay men, or for men who are judged to be "unmanly", weak or effeminate. Its usage has spread to varying extents elsewhere in the English-speaking world. Look up pejorative on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In modern society, gay is a word which can be used as either a noun or adjective. ...

Etymology

The origins of the word in this sense have been clouded by mythology. ...

Bundle of sticks

It has been frequently said that the pejorative use of the word derives from "faggot" in the sense of a bundle of sticks, because homosexual men were burned at the stake for sodomy and faggots were used as kindling. Sodomy is a term of religious origin to characterise certain sexual acts. ... Kindling is material for starting a fire. ...

Prime example....is michael

There is, however, no historical evidence for these supposed derivations, and the use of the term "faggot" for gay men goes back only to the 19th century. The fact that this use appeared in the United States—where no one is known to have been burned at the stake for sodomy—but not in Britain, where men were burned at the stake for buggery until the 17th century (though the more common punishment was hanging), makes this derivation seem highly unlikely. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Anal sex or anal intercourse is human sexual behavior involving the anus and rectum, especially, but not limited to, the insertion of the erect penis into the anus. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

Prostitution

It is more likely this use of faggot was originally a derogatory term for street prostitutes, female and male, because they were associated with "the gutter", where "faggot-ends" of meat were thrown by butchers. The term "faggot girls" for prostitutes is attested from the late 19th century. Often perceived still as gender traitors, homosexual men are still often spoken of as "girls," and there were probably a number of male prostitutes at the same time refered to as "faggot boys". In either case, it would be a short leap from "faggot girl" meaning "prostitute" to "faggot" meaning "sodomite"—probably starting with male prostitutes who tend to serve primarily or exclusively male customers. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... The word gutter refers to a long, thin trough, usually one that runs straight. ... Butchers selling meat in Morocco The Butcher and his Servant, drawn and engraved by J. Amman (Sixteenth Century). ...

British slang

The word faggot does have a native slang meaning in Britain, especially northern England, where it commonly denotes a silly or foolish person—someone who is "as a dumb as a bundle of sticks." In the pilot episode of the Britcom In Loving Memory from Yorkshire Television, undertaker Jeremiah Unsworth is taken under by an accident. After the funeral, widow Ivy receives the condolences of her old friend Amy Jenkins, who says, "He heard the call. He answered it. And he fell in the line of duty. No man can ask for a better epitaph than that." Ivy thanks her, says good-bye, and then turns to her nephew, Billy, as soon as the door is shut and says in reference to Amy, "Silly old faggot! 'He heard the call?' 'He answered it?' The only call your Uncle Jeremiah ever heard was, 'Time, Gentlemen, please!'." Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... In Loving Memory is a 1968 gospel music compilation released by Motown Records. ... Yorkshire Television logo 1987 Yorkshire Television Limited is the ITV contractor for Yorkshire, England, and the surrounding areas. ...

However, fag or faggot has also become understood as an Americanism in British English, primarily due to its use in films and television series imported from the United States. British English (BrE) is a term used to differentiate the form of the English language used in the United Kingdom from other forms of the English language used elsewhere. ... Look up film in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...

"Fag" was also a term used for a junior boy who acted as a servant for a senior boy at Eton College, near Eton, Berkshire, and other British public schools. This practice, known as "fagging", was ended in the 1970s. == Fag is a very simple word that means Brent plamonden he is a slow retard that likes other men and his favorite choice is al a school janitor. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a prestigious independent school for boys. ... Eton is a town in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. ...

Cigarettes

Some have suggested that use of the term "fag," to mean a cigarette, often thrown into the gutter after it is smoked outdoors, contributed to the American slang use—especially as "fag" is an obvious truncation of "faggot," and cigarette smoking was considered an effeminate behaviour until it was made affordable to the working class. But this is not very likely because Americans, unlike Britons, have almost never referred to cigarettes as "fags". This is not to say that Britons have never used "fag" to refer to "cigarette". In the BBC series "Absolutely Fabulous", Edina was surprised to see her daughter, Saffron, using their counter-top range. Saffron explained that the stove-top range could be used for cooking, and that the only thing she'd ever seen her mother use the range for was to "light your fags." A military marching song popular with the British army during the First World War featured the line "while there's a Lucifer (matchstick) to light your fag...". This is only one example of linguistic evidence of the word fag pre-dating the rise of the gay movement in the West. UK slang referring to a tobacco cigarette. ... A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Lucifer as depicted in Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire Infernal (1863) Lucifer is a Latin word made up of two words, lux (light; genitive lucis) and ferre (to bear, to bring), meaning light-bearer. ... Household safety matches Ignition of a match burning match This article refers to the implement used to create a flame. ...

Earliest written uses

The earliest known reference to the word in print was in the 1914 Jackson and Hellyer A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang, with Some Examples of Common Usages which listed the following example under the word, drag: 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Drag in its broadest sense means a costume or outfit that carries symbolic significance, but usually refers to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of the other gender. ...

"All the fagots (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight."

The word was also used by a character in Claude McKay’s 1928 novel Home to Harlem, indicating that it was used during the Harlem Renaissance. Specifically, one character says that he can't understand: Claude McKay. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of African-American social thought and culture based in the African-American community forming in Harlem in New York City (USA). ...

"a bulldyking woman and a faggoty man"

Culture

"Fag" and "Faggot" have historically been two of the most offensive terms that could be addressed to an American man or adolescent boy. Even so, in recent years, both terms have become employed by gay men in a defiant or self-mocking way, much in the way some African Americans have taken to using the word "nigger" among themselves. A common example of this would be usage of the term "fag hag" to describe a woman who associates with (and may prefer as non-sexual social partners) gay men, though this use, too, was originally pejorative. When used as a pejorative, however, it is still a powerful term of abuse (for example, Fred Phelps in his "God hates fags" campaign). Among many gay men, use of the term (especially by perceived outsiders) is considered offensive or impolite. African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... The word nigger is a highly controversial term used in many English-speaking countries, including the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia to refer to individuals with dark skin, especially those of African descent who previously were racially classified by the now outdated term Negro. ... Fag hag is a slang term, either abusive or affectionate, for a woman who enjoys the company of gay men. ... Look up pejorative on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Fred Phelps at a 2004 Topeka City Council meeting Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. ...

Originally confined to the United States, "fag" and "faggot" in their homosexual senses have been spread by American popular culture to other English-speaking countries, where it has partly displaced Commonwealth English terms such as "queer" and "poof" as colloquial or abusive terms for gay men, particularly among heterosexual youth. However, the continuing use of "fag" in British slang to mean cigarette and "faggot" to mean a bundle of sticks (or a fool) has severely limited adoption of the American use of the terms in the British Isles. Commonwealth English is intended as a collective term for the perceived standard English language used in the Commonwealth of Nations1, applying in theory to Australian English, British English, Caribbean English, Canadian English, Hiberno-English (Irish English)2, Hong Kong English3, Indian English (includes Pakistani English), formal Malaysia English, New Zealand... Queer has traditionally meant ‘strange’ or ‘unusual’, but is currently often used in reference to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. ... The term poof can be used in several ways: Look up Poof on Wiktionary, the free dictionary as a British English term for a a large footstool (from the French word pouf). as a name for bucky or English term for a gay man. ... A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ...

The ever-politically-incorrect observational comedian George Carlin once pointed out the fine distinction of this term in his youth. He said that "queer" meant homosexual, whereas "faggot" merely meant "unmanly". As he put it, "A faggot was someone who wouldn't go downtown on Saturday night and help beat up queers!" George Carlin in the film Jersey Girl George Dennis Carlin (born May 12, 1937 in New York City) is a Grammy winning Irish American stand-up comedian, actor, and author, noted especially for his irreverent attitude and his observations on language, psychology and religion along with many other taboo subjects. ...

The lyrics for the 1985 song hit Money for Nothing by Dire Straits were based on comments that the song's writer overheard being said by an applicance delivery man. It includes the lines "the little faggot with the earring and the makeup; yeh, buddy, that's his own hair; the little faggot got his own jet airplane; the little faggot is a millionaire". The repeated usage of the term, although used mockingly by the songwriter, nonetheless caused some controversy. It is another use of the term ridiculing the manliness, but not necessarily the sexual orientation, of the comment's target. That presumption in this song is underscored by the delivery man's repeated assertion, "Money for nothing, chicks for free". This article is about the year. ... Money for Nothing is the name of a song by Dire Straits which first appeared on the bands 1985 album Brothers in Arms and subsequently became an international hit when released as a single. ... Dire Straits performing live Dire Straits were a British rock band, formed in 1977 by frontman Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), his brother David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass) and Pick Withers (drums), and managed by Ed Bicknell. ...

External links

• How did "faggot" get to mean "male homosexual"? on The Straight Dope.
• Entries for faggot on Urban Dictionary.