Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Use of "knave" girl and "gay" girl in middle ages app. 1200-1500?
I have come across references to the above terms to denote boy(knave girl) and girl(gay girl) in this period as the use of girl or gurle or any other variations denoted a child (not gender specific) and knave or gay denoted the gender. Can anyone confirm this, or at least point me towards a reference somewhere?
2 Answers
- Anonymous10 years agoFavorite Answer
onlooker interesting.,
- Anonymous10 years ago
Knave is cognate with German Knabe, meaning a boy.
Gay is cognate with German and Dutch geil (different pronunciations), meaning randy (UK) or horny (USA).