Contents
English
Etymology
Earlier Middle English gipcyan gyptian, < Old French gyptien, short for Egyptian < Latin Aegyptius; when they first appeared in England in the sixteenth century they were believed to have come from Egypt.
Pronunciation
Noun
Gypsy (plural Gypsies)
- A member of the Romani people, or one of it sub-groups (Roma, Sinti, Romanichel, etc). Gypsy is not used by the Romani people themselves (it is an exonym) and is considered pejorative by some, mainly among the Romani people themselves.
- A member of other nomadic peoples, not only Romani people; a traveller.
Usage notes
The term Gypsy has contentious usage – it may have pejorative connotations and is an exonym (external name) based on the mistaken belief that the Romani people came from Egypt. Thus careful usage and most international organizations instead use Romani. Rom and Roma – narrowly speaking a subgroup – are also used as general terms, but can cause offense to (non-Romani) Romanians due to the confusion; Rrom and Rroma (trilled ‘r’) also find occasional use.
However, Gypsy is far better known than Romani, and is not commonly understood to be insulting by non-Romani – thus while it may cause offense, it is often not intended to cause offense. Further, some Romani organizations use Gypsy to refer to themselves.
Proper noun
Gypsy
Translations
the language of the Romani peopleAdjective
Gypsy (not comparable)
- Of or belonging to the Romani people or one of it sub-groups (Roma, Sinti, Romanichel, etc). This term is sometimes considered pejorative.
- Of or belonging to the Gypsy race (Webster).
Translations
of or belonging to the Romani people
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See also
References
- Gypsy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Romani people on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Romani people
- Gypsy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
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San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
Now that Gabrielle Ekedal has succesfully transferred Gypsy Honeymoon to its new and expansive location on Valencia Street, she reflects on the move and ...
