GYPSY

Meaning and pronunciation

Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/

Noun

Alternative form of Gypsy (“member of the Romani people”).

Noun

An itinerant person or any person, not necessarily Romani; a tinker, a traveller or a carny.

Adjective

Alternative form of Gypsy: of or belonging to the Rom, Dom or Lom people.

Adjective

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.

Alternative forms: gipsy, gipsey, gypsey, gypsie

Source: Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Corrections.

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.

Source: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA)