Mis Hanes LHDT+ 2023 : Gair y Dydd #2 -Hoyw
LGBT+ History Month 2023: Word of the day #2 -Gay
Hoyw
(adj. 'Gay')
Hoyw, like the term gay in English, can be used to mean 'joyful, happy' and to refer to an LGBT+ person.
I've written extensively on the history of other terms for homosexual in Welsh (e.g 'gwrywgydiwr', which is a derogatory term. And 'cyfunrhywiol', a neutral term.) You can find those articles here. Hoyw, on the other hand, is a bit more slippery.
The earliest instance of Hoyw being used to mean gay in Welsh in a dictionary is in 1985. In Geiriadur Esperanto~Kimra Vortaro the term Hoyw appears next to gwrywgydiwr. GaySocs in Wales were known as Cymdeithasau Hoyw according to students in Wales in the 80s, however, I have not found any instances of this in print. Despite this, the next times it would appear in a Welsh dictionary are in 1993, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2016 and 2017.
Have you got a Welsh dictionary? Have a see if yours has Hoyw in it! Comment below if it does!