[Ads-l] Antedating of "Fairy" (Slang Term for Male Homosexual)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Might it have been a female? Women were also referred to as "fairies" back
then.

JL

On Wed, Apr 15, 2026 at 1:39 PM Shapiro, Fred <
00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> fairy (OED, 4.c., 1896)
>
> 1892 People v. Thomas Frank Stevenson, Supreme Court, General Sessions,
> Indictments, Jan. 1892, Box 10039 sh 106170, New York City Municipal
> Archives in Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories (2001) 291, 383
>
> [As William A. Gramer sat at a table with beer he was] approached by a
> person ... designated as the "Fairy."
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org