an archaic term for gay men, although it has, in recent years, faced a resurgence as a gender-specific word for homosexuality, comparable to lesbian.

It was first used by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs in his collected booklets, Forschungen über das Räthsel der mannmännlichen Liebe (The Riddle of Man–Manly Love) – 1864-1865.

However, the term also gained traction in paederastic (that is, relating to relationships between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys) poetry from the 1870s to the 1930, which became known as Uranian poetry, although this was, by no means, the intention of the author (although he did recognise the existence of paederastic men). As such, the term may has certain connotations which are problematic in general use, and as such, the term Vincian may be preferred.

The term emerges in reference to Aphrodite Urania, the Greek Goddess born of Uranus, with the connotation of gay men being ‘men with female psyches’. As such, it was applied also to effeminate men and transfeminine people attracted to men.