Word
gypsy
Phoneticsgyp·sy
US/ˈdʒɪpsi/
UK/dʒˈɪpsi/
Definition
n. a member of a traditionally nomadic people who originated in northern India and now live across Europe and other parts of the world. Note: many people prefer the term 'Roma' or 'Romani' because 'gypsy' can be seen as outdated or offensive.
n. a member of the Romani people, a traditionally nomadic ethnic group originating in northern India. The term is widely considered outdated or pejorative in modern usage; 'Roma' or 'Romani' is preferred in formal and respectful contexts.
Examples
“The gypsy camped near the river for the summer.”
“Many communities now use the term Roma instead of gypsy to show respect for their history and culture.”
“Although the term gypsy remains common in literature and music, it is increasingly replaced by Romani in academic and social discourse to avoid historical stereotypes.”
Examples
simple
“The gypsy camped near the river for the summer.”
contextual
“Many communities now use the term Roma instead of gypsy to show respect for their history and culture.”
complex
“Although the term gypsy remains common in literature and music, it is increasingly replaced by Romani in academic and social discourse to avoid historical stereotypes.”
Pitfall
a gypsy fortune teller
a Romani fortune teller
Gypsy is often considered outdated or offensive; Romani is the preferred modern term.
Real-World Examples
“The French film director Tony Gatlif, who has died aged 77, was regularly described as “cinema’s Gypsy auteur”, so often did his films focus on Roma communities and their music.” Etymology
A clipping of Gyptian (in Early Modern English roughly /ˈd͡ʒɪp.sɪ.æn/), itself an apheretic form of Egyptian, from Middle English Egipcian (“Egyptian”) (rarely Gypcian), from Old French egyptien, from Latin aegyptianus, from aegyptius (“Egypt”), because when Roma first appeared in England in the sixteenth century, they were wrongly believed to have come from Egypt. The Albanian evgjit, Greek γύφτος (gýftos), Italian gitano, Spanish gitano and Turkish Kıpti have the same origin. Doublet of Egyptian and Copt. The other major categories of words for the Roma are cognates of Rom (words related to the Romani people's autonyms) and cognates of tzigane (words derived from Greek); see those entries for more information.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/gypsy