голубой

Russian

Etymology

Inherited from Old East Slavic голѫбъ (golǫbŭ), from Proto-Slavic *golǫbъ. By surface analysis, го́лубь (gólubʹ, “pigeon, dove”) +‎ -о́й (-ój); the sense refers to the bluish tint of the bird's neck plumage.

The usage for "homosexual" was derived from a slang word used by gay men during the 1960's, referring to the pigeons in Sverdlov Square in Moscow where gay men used to meet secretly. The usage was also derived from a song in the 1951 film "We are for peace" (Мы за мир), "Fly, doves" (Летите, голуби) by Mikhail Matusovsky, where the first lines "fly, doves, fly" (Летите, голуби, летите) were used to warn gay men about a coming police or KGB raid.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

голубо́й • (golubój) (comparative (по)голубе́е or (по)голубе́й, superlative голубе́йший)

1. light blue, sky blue, azure (contrast си́ний (sínij, “dark blue, indigo”))

   blue color:

   голубо́й экра́н ― golubój ekrán ― television, TV set

   голубо́й у́голь ― golubój úgolʹ ― wind power

   голубо́й песе́ц ― golubój peséc ― blue fox

   Голубо́й гига́нт ― Golubój gigánt ― Big Blue

   голубо́й шум ― golubój šum ― blue noise

   голубо́й газ ― golubój gaz ― water gas

   голубо́е пятно́ ― golubóje pjatnó ― Locus ceruleus

2. (figuratively) ideal

   голуба́я мечта́ ― golubája mečtá ― secret dream; a dream that one can never realize

   голуба́я кровь ― golubája krovʹ ― blue blood; aristocrat, member of the royal family

   принц голубо́й кро́ви (poetic) ― princ golubój króvi ― prince (literally, “prince of blue blood”)

3. (colloquial, slang, euphemistic) gay, homosexual (mostly related to male homosexuals, i.e. not lesbian)

   Мы ходи́ли на голубо́й мю́зикл. ― My xodíli na golubój mjúzikl. ― We went to a gay musical.

Usage notes

• голубо́й (golubój) and си́ний (sínij) (different shades of blue) name distinct basic colors in Russian, as different from each other as blue and green would be for an English speaker; Russian does not have one single color term corresponding to "blue".
• голубо́й (golubój) is more preferred by the gay community in Russia, because it sounds less offensive and more accepting than other terms like гомосексуали́ст (gomoseksualíst) or the more offensive педера́ст (pederást).

Declension

Related terms

• голубе́ть (golubétʹ, “to turn blue, to show blue”)
• голубе́ц (golubéc, “goloubets (stuffed cabbage)”)
• го́лубь (gólubʹ, “dove, pigeon”), голу́бка (golúbka, “female dove or pigeon”), голубо́к (golubók) (diminutive)
• голубизна́ (golubizná, “blueness”)
• голуби́ка (golubíka, “bilberry, whortleberry, blueberry, etc. (any berry of a blue color)”)
• голу́бить (golúbitʹ, “to take tender care (of), to caress (poetic)”)
• голубова́тый (golubovátyj, “bluish”)
• голубогла́зка (goluboglázka, “satin flower, blue-eyed grass”)
• голу́бчик (golúbčik, “my dear”), голу́бушка (golúbuška, “my dear”)
• голубя́тня (golubjátnja, “dovecot”)

Descendants

• → Armenian: երկնագույն (erknaguyn) (semantic loan)
• → Azerbaijani: mavi (semantic loan)

Noun

голубо́й • (golubój) m anim (genitive голубо́го, nominative plural голубы́е, genitive plural голубы́х)

1. (colloquial, euphemistic) male gay (neutral term, see also гей, педераст, гомосексуалист)

   он голубо́й ― on golubój ― he’s gay

Declension

Descendants

• → Armenian: երկնագույն (erknaguyn) (semantic loan)
• → Azerbaijani: qaluboy
• → Georgian: ცისფერი (cisperi) (semantic loan)

See also

References