homophile

American  

[hoh-muh-fahyl] / ˈhoʊ məˌfaɪl /

noun

1. a gay person, especially a gay man.

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adjective

1. advocating or supportive of the interests, civil rights, and welfare of gay people.

   a homophile activist organization.

homophile British  

/ ˈhəʊməˌfaɪl, ˈhɒm- /

noun

1. a rare word for homosexual

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Etymology

Origin of homophile

First recorded in 1945–50; homo- + -phile, on the model of homosexual

Example Sentences

In 1968, inspired by the black power slogan “Black Is Beautiful,” Kameny coined the slogan “Gay Is Good,” which a national conference of homophile organizations adopted as its motto.

From New York Times

Homosexual was in more common usage, and pro-gay advocates were called homophiles.

From Reuters

In California, here’s groundbreaking gay activist Harry Hay getting ousted from Mattachine, the “homophile” group he started, after the middle-class men and women it attracted began to reject his communism and aim instead for respectability.

From Washington Post

The few “homophile” organisations took deliberately obscure names; Mattachine was supposedly a French medieval secret fraternity.

From Economist

The next year, The Times reported, the marchers were “a coalition of eight homophile groups,” and “those who observed both said that this year’s crowd appeared to be about double last year’s.”

From New York Times