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Gypsy
Definitions
- 1 Alternative form of Gypsy: of or belonging to the Romani people. alt-of, alternative, not-comparable
- 2 Of or belonging to the Romani people or one of it sub-groups (Roma, Sinti, Romanichel, etc). not-comparable, offensive, sometimes
- 3 Of or having the qualities of an itinerant person or group with qualities traditionally ascribed to Romani people; making a living from dishonest practices or theft etc. not-comparable, offensive
- 1 The language Romani. offensive, rare, sometimes
- 2 A female given name.
""Why, good afternoon, Miss Gypsy," said Sir Simms; "I'm surprised to see you such a warm day — very much surprised. But you always were a remarkable young lady ...""
- 1 Alternative form of Gypsy (“member of the Romani people”). alt-of, alternative, offensive, sometimes
"He championed the music of the gypsies as he did the Muslim and Jewish roots of Spanish culture. […] All these and more were fused in the forge of the gypsy experience into a singular art form, unlike any of its sources, evoking its own worldview, its own existential stance."
- 2 A member of the Romani people, or one of the sub-groups (Roma, Sinti, Romanichal, etc). offensive, sometimes
- 3 the Indic language of the Romani wordnet
- 4 An itinerant person or any person, not necessarily Romani; a tinker, a traveller or a carny. colloquial
"Like a right gypsy, hath, at fast and loose, Beguiled me to the very heart of loss."
- 5 A member of other nomadic peoples, not only of the Romani people; a traveller. Alternative spelling of gypsy
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a person who resembles a Romani in leading an unconventional, nomadic way of life wordnet
- 7 A move in contra dancing in which two dancers walk in a circle around each other while maintaining eye contact (but not touching as in a swing). (Compare whole gyp, half gyp, and gypsy meltdown, in which this step precedes a swing.) offensive, sometimes
- 8 a member of a people with dark skin and hair who speak Romany and who traditionally live by seasonal work and fortunetelling; they are believed to have originated in northern India but now are living on all continents (but mostly in Europe, North Africa, and North America) wordnet
- 9 A member of a Broadway musical chorus line.
- 10 a laborer who moves from place to place as demanded by employment wordnet
- 11 A person with a dark complexion. dated
- 12 A sly, roguish woman. dated
- 13 A fortune teller. colloquial, dated
- 14 A whitewashed South Asian. offensive, sometimes
- 1 To roam around the country like a gypsy. intransitive
"The rest of the day is spent out of doors "Gypsying", and families greatly enjoy themselves on these occasions."
- 2 To perform the gypsy step in contra dancing.
"Look at the person you're gypsying with, and convey the message that you notice them as a person and that you're glad that they're there, […]"
Etymology
See Gypsy. Compare bohemian, from Bohemia.
See Gypsy. Compare bohemian, from Bohemia.
See Gypsy. Compare bohemian, from Bohemia.
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.
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.
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.
See also for "gypsy"
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