# gay cancer

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Synonym of AIDS (“acquired immune deficiency syndrome”).

## Etymology
From gay (“homosexual”) + cancer (“disease”). From the fact that HIV/AIDS was in its beginnings very disproportionately found in homosexual men. The word “cancer” from the analogy with a suddenly emerging, highly feared and highly lethal disease.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gay-cancer