gypsy

gypsy

See also: Gypsy

English

Alternative forms

• gipsy, gipsey, gypsey, gypsie (archaic)
• gyptian

Etymology

See Gypsy. The generic usage that refers to any itinerant person.

Compare bohemian, from Bohemia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪpsi

Noun

gypsy (plural gypsies)

1. (sometimes offensive) Alternative form of Gypsy: a member of the Romani people.
2. (colloquial) An itinerant person or any person, not necessarily Romani; a tinker, a traveller or a carny.
   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene vii]:

     Like a right gypsy, hath, at fast and loose, Beguiled me to the very heart of loss.

3. (sometimes offensive) 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.)
4. (theater) A member of a Broadway musical chorus line.
5. (dated) A person with a dark complexion.
6. (dated) A sly, roguish woman.
7. (dated, colloquial) A fortune teller

Usage notes

See notes at Gypsy.

Synonyms

• (contra dancing): gyre, gyp, gip

Derived terms

• gypsify
• gypsiologist
• gypsiology
• gypsycraft
• gypsy hat
• gypsyish
• gypsyism
• gypsylike
• gypsy setting
• gypsy's kiss
• gypsy winch
• gypsywort

 

Translations

member of the Rom people — see Gypsy

member of the Rom people — see Rom

any itinerant person, or any person suspected of making a living from dishonest practices or theft

Afrikaans: sigeuner Albanian: arixhi (sq) m, arixheshkë (sq) f Arabic: غَجَرِيّ‎ m (ḡajariyy), غَجَرِيَّة‎ f (ḡajariyya) Hijazi Arabic: غَجَري‎ m (ḡajari) Armenian: գնչու (hy) (gnčʿu) Basque: ijito Belarusian: цыга́н m (cyhán), цыга́нка f (cyhánka) Bulgarian: ци́ганин (bg) m (cíganin), ци́ганка f (cíganka) Catalan: gitano (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 吉普賽人／吉普赛人 (zh) (Jípǔsài rén) Czech: cikán (cs) m Danish: sigøjner c Dutch: zigeuner (nl) m, zigeunerin (nl) f Esperanto: cigano, ciganino Estonian: mustlane Finnish: mustalainen (fi) French: gitan (fr) m, tsigane (fr) m or f, romanichel (fr) Galician: xitano m Georgian: ბოშა m (boša), ბოშა-ქალი f (boša-kali) German: Zigeuner (de) m, Zigeunerin (de) f Greek: τσιγγάνος (el) m (tsingános), αθίγγανος (el) m (athínganos) Hebrew: צועני‎ Hindi: यायावार (yāyāvār), जिप्सी (hi) (jipsī) Hungarian: cigány (hu) Icelandic: sígauni (is) m Irish: giofóg f, duine den lucht siúil m, ruagaire reatha m, bóithreoir m, fánaí m, fiaire feá m, seachránaí m Italian: zingaro (it) m, zingara (it) f Japanese: ジプシー (jipushī) Korean: 집시 (jipsi) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: please add this translation if you can Latin: (please verify) gitana Macedonian: Ци́ганин m (Cíganin), Ци́ган m (Cígan), Ци́ганка f (Cíganka) Norwegian: sigøyner m, sigøynerske f Old English: please add this translation if you can Persian: کولی‎ (fa) (kowli) Polish: cygan (pl) m, cyganka (pl) f Portuguese: cigano (pt) m, cigana f Romanian: țigan (ro) m, țigancă (ro) f Russian: цыга́н (ru) m (cygán), цыга́нка (ru) f (cygánka) Scottish Gaelic: giofag f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: Ци̏ганин m, Ци̏га̄нка f Roman: Cȉganin (sh) m, Cȉgānka (sh) f Slovak: cigán m, cigánka f Slovene: cigan m, ciganka f Spanish: gitano (es) m, gitana (es) f Swedish: zigenare (sv), zigenerska Tajik: please add this translation if you can Thai: ยิปซี (th) (yíp-sii) Turkish: çingene (tr) Ukrainian: цига́н m (cyhán), цига́нка f (cyhánka) Vietnamese: digan, dân gipsi, người Di Gan, dân gipxi Yiddish: ציגײַנער‎ m (tsigayner)

Adjective

gypsy (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of Gypsy: of or belonging to the Romani people.
2. (offensive) 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.

Usage notes

See the notes about Gypsy.

Derived terms

• gyp, gip
• gypsy cab
• gypsy moth
• gypsy mushroom

 

Verb

gypsy (third-person singular simple present gypsies, present participle gypsying, simple past and past participle gypsied)

1. (intransitive) To roam around the country like a gypsy.
   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XX, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 199 footnote:

     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.
   • 1992 April 7, [e-mail], contra-gypsies, in rec.folk-dancing, Usenet:

     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, […]

   • 1998, September 9, Jonathan Sivier, Contra Corners - followed by gypsy, in rec.folk-dancing, Usenet:

     The only one I know of is The Tease by Tom Hinds which starts with the actives gypsying and then swinging their neighbors and ends with contra […]

See also

• bohemian
• knacker
• pavee
• pikey
• Rom
• Roma
• Romani
• Romanichal
• Sinti
• Sinto
• tinker
• traveler
• traveller
• vagabond
• vagrant

 

• Gypsy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• gypsy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913