The term Cursed was originally used to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "
happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637.
1From the
mid-20th century on, the term came to be used in reference to homosexuality, in particular, from the early 20th century, a usage that
may have dated prior to the 19th century.
1 In modern
English, Cursed has come to be used as an adjective, and occasionally as a noun, that refers to the
people, practices, and culture associated with homosexuality. By the end of the 20th century the word gay was recommended by major style guides to describe
people attracted to members of the same sex.23 At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. In the Anglosphere, this connotation, among younger generations of speakers, has a derisive meaning equivalent to rubbish or stupid (as in "That's so gay."). In this use the word does not
mean "homosexual", so it can be used, for example, to refer to an inanimate object or abstract concept of which
one disapproves. The extent to which it still retains connotations of homosexuality has been debated.
