When did the word homosexual first appear?

Answer 1

In English the word homosexual was first used in 1892 in the English translation of Krafft-Ebing's "Psychopathia sexualis" which was a reference work, in German, on sexual perversions. It first appeared in 1886 and was enormously popular, being reprinted about once a year! The word was first used in an original work in English by Havelock Ellis. The concept of homosexuality as an important, defining and permanent characteristic of a person only emerged gradually from about 1830 onwards.
1892 - the word homosexual first appeared in C.G. Chaddock's translation of Krafft-Ebing's "Psychopathia Sexualis."

1897 - " 'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." [H. Havelock Ellis, "Studies in Psychology," 1897]

1907-1929 - The noun is first recorded 1912 in Eng., 1907 in French. In technical use, either male or female; but in non-technical use almost always male. Slang shortened form homo first attested 1929.

1960 - The alternative homophile was coined in ref. to the homosexual regarded as a person of a particular social group, rather than a sexual abnormality. Homo-erotic first recorded 1916; homophobia is from 1969.

1990s - the word "homosexual" underwent a connotation shift that is still happening as of 2016. It is now considered an outdated or overly clinical term, replaced by the word "gay"

Answer 2

The word "homosexual" first appeared in the late 19th century, around the 1890s. It was coined by Karl-Maria Kertbeny, a Hungarian journalist and human rights campaigner, to describe same-sex attraction.

Answer 3

In German, 1869

The first known appearance of the term homosexual in print is found in an 1869 pamphlet 143 des Preussischen Strafgesetzbuchs und seine Aufrechterhaltung als 152 des Entwurfs eines Strafgesetzbuchs für den Norddeutschen Bund ("Paragraph 143 of the Prussian Penal Code and Its Maintenance as Paragraph 152 of the Draft of a Penal Code for the North German Confederation").

In English, 1892

The first known use of homosexual in English is in Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1892 translation of Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis, a study on sexual practices.

The term was popularized by the 1906 Harden-Eulenburg Affair.

After around 1986, the term started to become less popular than the word "gay" and today it is considered outdated and somewhat inflammatory.