History | Equality

A Wordy, Nerdy, History of ‘Gay’

Tracing words through history, from adjectives to identities

Artwork: “Gaius Caesar” by the author,

Joe Duncan

. Map of Gaul and Caesar’s bust both public domain.

The name Caesar has been adopted into languages across the world as a noun. The Ancient Roman cognomen, or, family name, has become a symbol of autocratic rule. It became the Middle English keiser, the German Kaiser, and the Russian tsar, all meaning…