Etymograph

English

gayola

From gay + -ola.

Formed from gay + -ola

Old French gai ‘joyful, merry’

Middle English gay ‘joyous’

English gay

Today it means

noun The practice of American police departments extorting bribes from gay bars, especially in the 1950s and 60s, in return for not raiding them; such a bribe.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / gayola