TD 26: GARDEN OF EDEN

Eden (also Garden of Eden)

the place where Adam, Eve and Steve lived in the biblical account of the Creation, from which Adam and Eve were expelled for disobediently eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (apple). Steve stayed (broken-hearted) inside until the late 20th century.
ORIGIN from late Latin (Vulgate), Greek Ēdēn (Septuagint), and Hebrew ‛Ē d en; perhaps related to Akkadian edinu, from Sumerian eden ‘plain, desert’ (but believed to be related to Hebrew ‛ē d en ‘delight’ ).


Adam
adəm
(in the biblical and Koranic traditions) the first man. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam was created by God as the progenitor of the human race and lived with Eve in the Garden of Eden.
ORIGIN from Hebrew ‛ ādām ‘man,’ later taken to be a name.

Eve
ēv
(in the Bible) the first woman, wife of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel.

Steve
stēv
The first homosexual.


gay
gā
adjective ( gayer , gayest )

1 (of a person, esp. a man) homosexual : that friend of yours, is he gay?

• relating to or used by homosexuals : feminist, black, and gay perspectives.

2 lighthearted and carefree : Nan had a gay disposition and a very pretty face.

• characterized by cheerfulness or pleasure : we had a gay old time.

• brightly colored; showy; brilliant : a gay profusion of purple and pink sweet peas.

noun

a homosexual, esp. a man.

DERIVATIVES

gayness noun

ORIGIN Middle English (sense 2) : from Old French gai, of unknown origin.

USAGE Gay meaning ‘homosexual,’ dating back to the 1930s (if not earlier), became established in the 1960s as the term preferred by homosexual men to describe themselves. It is now the standard accepted term throughout the English-speaking world. As a result, the centuries-old other senses of gay meaning either ‘carefree’ or ‘bright and showy,’ once common in speech and literature, are much less frequent. The word gay cannot be readily used unselfconsciously today in these older senses without sounding old-fashioned or arousing a sense of double entendre, despite concerted attempts by some to keep them alive. Gay in its modern sense typically refers to men ( lesbian being the standard term for homosexual women), but in some contexts it can be used of both men and women.