Re:First English dictionary of ancient Greek since Victorian...
by vincent-manis on Thursday May 27, 2021 @11:53PM
(#27311561)
Or, given that 19th c. “gay” had a multiplicity of meanings, the intended meaning might have been something like “women who wore flashy clothes”.
What they meant was probably "promiscuous" or in some other form "leading an immoral lifestyle": https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/bzyd5jq
That might make it a bit more plausible why this epithet was removed.