The

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

are also known by a variety of other names; in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as ''gypsies'' or ''gipsies'', and ''Roma''; in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

as (''gíftoi'') or (''tsiggánoi''), in Central and Eastern Europe as ''Tsingani'' (and variants); in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as ''gitans'' besides the dated terms ''bohémiens'' and ''manouches''; in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

as ''rom'' and ''sinti'' besides the dated terms ''zingari'', ''zigani'', and ''gitani''; in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

as ''gitanos''; and in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as ''ciganos''. Self-designation also varies: In Central and Eastern Europe, ''Roma'' is common. The Romani of England call themselves (in

Angloromani Angloromani or Anglo-Romani (literally "English Romani"; also known as Angloromany, Rummaness, or Pogadi Chib) is a mixed language of Indo European origin involving the presence of Romani vocabulary and syntax in the English used by descendants of ...

) ''

Romanichal Romanichal Travellers ( ; more commonly known as English Gypsies or English Travellers) are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. There are an estimated 200,000 Romani in the United Kingdom ...

'', those of

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

(in Scandinavian romanidialect)'' Romanisæl''. In

German-speaking Europe This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprachraum) in Europe ...

, the self-designation is ''

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

'', in France '' Manush'', while the groups of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

use ''Kalo/Kale'' (from ''kalo'' meaning "black" in Romani language). There are numerous subgroups and clans with their own self-designations, such as the

Kalderash The Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people. They were traditionally coppersmiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani. The Kalderash of the ...

Machvaya Lovari ("horse-dealer", from Hungarian "ló", ''horse'') is a subgroup of the Romani people, who speak their own dialect, influenced by Hungarian and West Slavic dialects. They live predominantly throughout Central Europe (Hungary, Poland, Sl ...

Boyash Boyash or ''Bayash'' (endonym: ''Bȯjáṡ'', Romanian: ''Băieși'', Hungarian: ''Beás'', Slovak: ''Bojáš'', South Slavic: ''Bojaši'') refers to a Romani ethnic group living in Romania, southern Hungary, northeastern and northwestern ...

, Lovari,

Modyar Carpathian Romani, also known as Central Romani or Romungro Romani, is a group of dialects of the Romani language spoken from southern Poland to Hungary, and from eastern Austria to Ukraine. North Central Romani is one of a dozen major dialect g ...

, Xoraxai,

Lăutari The Romanian word lăutar (; plural: ''lăutari'') denotes a class of musicians. The term was adopted by members of a professional clan of Romani musicians in the late XVIII century. The term is derived from ''lăută'', the Romanian word for ...

, etc. In the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

(according to

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

), ''Rom'' is a noun (with the plural ''Romá'' or ''Roms'') and an adjective, while ''Romany'' is also a noun (with the plural ''Romanies'') and an adjective. Both ''Rom'' and ''Romany'' have been in use in English since the 19th century as an alternative for

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

. ''Romany'' is also spelled ''Romani'', or ''Rommany''. Sometimes, ''rom'' and ''romani'' are spelled with a double ''r'', i.e., ''rrom'' and ''rromani'', particularly in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

in order to distinguish from the Romanian endonym (''români''), to which it has no relation. This is well established in Romani itself, since it represents a phoneme (/ʀ/ also written as ''ř'' and ''rh'') which in some Romani dialects has remained different from the one written with a single ''r''. ''Roma'' is a term primarily used in political contexts to refer to the Romani people as a whole. Still, some subgroups of Romani do not self-identify as Roma, therefore some scholars avoid using the term ''Roma'' as not all Romani subgroups accept the term. Because all Romanies use the word ''Romani'' as an adjective, the term began to be used as a noun for the entire ethnic group. Today, the term ''Romani'' is used by some organizations, including the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and the US Library of Congress. However, the Council of Europe and other organizations use the term ''Roma'' to refer to Romani people around the world, and recommended that ''Romani'' be restricted to the language and culture: Romani language, Romani culture.Roma, Sinti, Gypsies, Travellers...The Correct Terminology about Roma
at In Other WORDS project - Web Observatory & Review for Discrimination alerts & Stereotypes deconstruction

Etymology

The demonyms of the Romani people, Lom and Dom share the same etymological origin, reflecting

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

' "a man of low caste, living by singing and music"McArthur, T. (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (1992)

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

The ultimate origin of the Sanskrit term ' (perhaps from Munda or Dravidian) is uncertain. Its stem, ', is connected with drumming, linked with the Sanskrit verbal root ' 'to sound (as a drum)', perhaps a loan from Dravidian, e.g.

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

''ḍamāra'' 'a pair of kettle-drums', and Telugu ''ṭamaṭama'' 'a drum,

tomtom TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004. ...

''Gypsy'' and ''gipsy''

The English term ''

gipsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' or ''

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' is commonly used to indicate

Tinker Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and Romani p ...

s, and Travellers, and use of the word ''gipsy'' in modern-day

is pervasive (and is a legal term under English law—see below), and some Romani organizations use it in their own organizational names, particularly in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The word, while sometimes positively embraced by Romani persons, is also sometimes rejected by other Romani persons as offensive due to it being tainted by its use as a

racial slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...

and a pejorative connotation implying illegality and irregularity, and some modern dictionaries either recommend avoiding use of the word ''gypsy'' entirely or give it a negative or warning label. A

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

Committee parliamentary inquiry, as described in their report “Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities” (published 2019), stated about their findings in the

that: “We asked many members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities how they preferred to describe themselves. While some find the term “Gypsy” to be offensive, many stakeholders and witnesses were proud to associate themselves with this term and so we have decided that it is right and proper to use it, where appropriate, throughout the report.” The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

'' states a 'gipsy' is a According to the OED, the word was first used in English in 1514, with several more uses in the same century, and both Edmund Spenser and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

used this word.Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Edition 1989. "Gipsy, gypsy, n." This

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

is sometimes written with a capital letter, to show that it designates an ethnic group. The Spanish term '' gitano'', the French term and the Basque term have the same origin. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name was written in various ways: ''Egipcian'', ''Egypcian'', ''gypcian''. The word ''gipsy/gypsy'' comes from the spellings which had lost the initial capital ''E'', and that is one reason that it is often spelled with the initial ''g'' in lowercase. As time elapsed, the notion of "the gipsy/gypsy" altered to include other associated

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

such as

nomadism A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

and exoticism. John Matthews in ''The World Atlas of Divination'' refer to gypsies as "Wise Women." Colloquially, ''gipsy/gypsy'' is used refer to any person perceived by the speaker as fitting the gypsy stereotypes.

Use in English law

''Gipsy'' has several developing and overlapping meanings under English Law. Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, ''gipsies'' are defined as "persons of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin, but does not include members of an organised group of travelling showmen, or persons engaged in travelling circuses, travelling together as such". The definition includes such groups as

New Age Travellers New Age travellers, not completely synonymous with but otherwise shortened to New Travellers (often referred to as "crusties"), are people in the United Kingdom generally espousing New Age beliefs along with the hippie culture of the 1960s (over ...

as well as

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

and Romany.Ravi Low-Bee
Challenging Gypsy planning policies occasional discussion paper number 1
Traveller Law Research Unit, Cardiff Law School, P O Box 427, Cardiff CF1 1XD. Retrieved 2008-10-09.Thomas Acton
Human Rights as a Perspective on Entitlements: The Debate over 'Gypsy Fairs' in EnglandEssex Human Rights Review
Vol. 1 No. 1. July 2004, pp. 18-28, ISSN 1756-1957. See footnote 5 page 19 (page 2 of the PDF document). "Gipsies" of Romany origins have been a recognised ethnic group for the purposes of

Race Relations Act 1976 The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. The scope of the legislation included discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and n ...

since ''Commission for Racial Equality v Dutton 1989'', as have

in England and Wales since ''O'Leary v Allied Domecq 2000'' (having already gained recognition in Northern Ireland in 1997).Traveller Law Research Unit
Cardiff University, (From March 1995 to December 2002). Retrieved 2008-10-09. Archived from original 2008

List of names

''Tsinganoi''

In much of continental Europe, Romanies are known by names related to the

term ('): } * Bulgarian: **, ''zigani'' (Roma people) **, ''ziganin'' (male Roma) **, ''ziganka'' (female Roma) **, ''zigance'' (Roma child) * cs, cikáni (synonym: ) * mk, цигани, ''zigani'' (synonym: ) * pl, Cyganie (synonym: ) *russian: цыгане, ''z'igane'' * sh, цигани, cigani * sk, cigáni * sl, cigani * uk, цигани, ''zigani'' , * af, sigeuner (after Dutch) * da, sigøjnere * nl, zigeuner *german: Zigeuner * is, sígaunar *

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: ** nb, sigøynere ** nn, sigøynarar * sv, zigenare , *french: tsiganes, tziganes * gl, ciganos (those from East and
Central Europe), cíngaros (those from Italy) * it, zingari, zigani * pt, ciganos, zíngaros * ro, țigani * scn, zìngari, zanni * es, cíngaros , * al, Cigan *

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: , * Balkan Romani: ''Čingaren'' * Caló (Spanish Romani): ''čingarár'' * eo, Cigano *

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

: चिंगारी ''Chingaari'' * hu, cigány *

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

, (from Turkish); , * lv, čigāni * lt, Čigonai *

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: , * tr, Çingene *

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Byzantine Greek (''atsinganoi'', Latin ''adsincani'') or ('' athinganoi'', literally "untouchables"), a term applied to the sect of the Melchisedechians. The ''Adsincani'' appear in an 11th-century text preserved in Mt Athos, ''The Life of Saint George the Athonite'' (written in the Georgian language), as "a Samaritan people, descendants of Simon the Magician, named Adsincani, who were renowned sorcerers and villains". In the text, emperor Constantine Monomachos employs the Adsincani to exterminate wild animals, who were destroying the game in the imperial park of Philopation.

''Bohémiens''

Because many Romanies living in France had come via Bohemia, they were referred to as ''Bohémiens''. This term would later be adapted by the French to refer to a particular artistic and impoverished lifestyle of an individual, known as Bohemianism.

Roma

* cs, Romové (synonym) * pl, Romowie (synonym) * Coptic language: ''Roma'' *

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Other

* Albanian: Arixhi (handler of bears) *

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: * az, Qaraçı *

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

: , (in the Northern Basque Country), or txingartu (for Basque-speaking Romanies) * Chinese: * Estonian: *

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

: * Georgian: *

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: (from the city Soan in Egypt) *

Mingrelian Mingrelian may refer to: *the Mingrelians *the Mingrelian language Mingrelian or Megrelian (, ) is a Kartvelian language spoken in Western Georgia (regions of Mingrelia and Abkhazia), primarily by the Mingrelians. The language was also called kol ...

References

External links

* 'gypsy' on the English Wiktionary
dawn.com

Names of the Romani People

- Ian Hancock
The Muslim Gypsies in Romania
{{DEFAULTSORT:Names Of The Romani People Romani Romani