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In
Romani culture Romani culture encompasses the regional cultures of the Romani people. These cultures have developed through complex histories of interaction with their surrounding populations. Romani people constitute the largest ethnic minority in Europe. ...
, a ''gorja'', ''gadjo'' (masculine) or ''gadji'' (feminine) is a person who has no Romanipen. This usually corresponds to not being an ethnic Romani, but it can also be an ethnic Romani who does not live within
Romani culture Romani culture encompasses the regional cultures of the Romani people. These cultures have developed through complex histories of interaction with their surrounding populations. Romani people constitute the largest ethnic minority in Europe. ...
. It is often used by Romanies to address or denote outsider neighbors living within or very near their community.


Etymology

The exact origin of the word is not known. One theory considers that the word comes from the proto-Romani word for "peasant" and has the same root as the Romani word ''gav'' (a village).


In Bulgaria

The word has been borrowed in Bulgarian as ''гадже'' (gadzhe), meaning boyfriend or girlfriend.


In Spain

The word passed from Caló to Spanish slang as ''gachó''gachó
in the
Diccionario de la lengua española The (''DLE''; English: ''Dictionary of the Spanish language'') is the authoritative dictionary of the Spanish language. It is produced, edited, and published by the Royal Spanish Academy, with the participation of the Association of Academies ...
.
(masculine) / ''gachí''gachí
in the Diccionario de la lengua española.
(feminine) acquiring the generalized meaning "man, guy" / "woman, girl". The Caló word for a non- Gitano is ''payo''/''paya''.payo
at the Diccionario de la lengua española.


In Portuguese

The
European Portuguese European Portuguese (, ), also known as Lusitanian Portuguese () or as the Portuguese (language) of Portugal (), refers to the dialects of the Portuguese language spoken in Portugal. The word "European" was chosen to avoid the clash of "Portugues ...
words ''gajo'' (masculine) and ''gaja'' (feminine) originated in the Romani/Caló and are used in everyday language to refer informally to a man or a woman, in a usage similar to "guy" in English. The word ''gazim'' has been attested as a rare use in
Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (; ; also known as pt-BR) is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of Portuguese language native to Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the 203 million inhabitants of Brazil and widely across the Brazilian diaspora ...
with the meaning of strange (i.e. foreign) woman, probably with roots in the Romani ''gadji''.


In Scotland and Northern England

The word is encountered as ''gadgie'' (or sometimes ''gadge''), a term in Scots, formerly only used by the Roma/Traveller community, but since the 20th century in general use by the Scots-speaking population. In most areas it is heard, notably
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, the
Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
and
Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...
, gadgie has a generalised meaning of a man that the speaker doesn't know well. In
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
, it is a more pejorative term, referring to a poorly educated person who engages in hooliganism or petty criminality. In the village of
Aberchirder Aberchirder (, ) known locally as Foggieloan or Foggie, is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated on the A97 road six miles west of Turriff. Etymology The name Aberchirder, recorded in as ''Aberkerdour'' means 'mouth of the Chirder' ...
, it refers to a born-and-bred local.


See also

*
Doma (caste) The Doma (), also known as ''Dom'', ''Domra'', ''Domba'', ''Domaka'', ''Dombara'' and ''Dombari'', are castes, or groups, scattered across India. The Doma/Dom were a caste of drummers. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the ...
of Indian subcontinent from which Romas and Doms originated *
Gadjo dilo ''The Crazy Stranger'' (original title: ''Gadjo dilo'' – Romanes for ''"Crazy Gadjo"'')The Romanian title of the film is ''Străinul nebun'', "The Crazy Foreigner". In a version subtitled in English by Heidi Wood, TVS Titra Film, offered by Ne ...
, film about a Frenchman's travels to Romania to find a Romani musician *
Gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: a ...
, Japanese term *
Goy In modern Hebrew and Yiddish, (; , pl: , or ) is a term for a gentile, a non-Jew. Through Yiddish, the word has been adopted into English (pl: goyim or goys) also to mean "gentile", sometimes in a pejorative sense. The Biblical Hebrew word ...
, Hebrew and Yiddish term *
Gora (disambiguation) Gora may refer to: * Gora (surname) * Gora (musical instrument), or lesiba, a Southern African instrument * Gora (racial epithet), racial epithet for white people in India * ''Gora'' (novel), a 1910 novel by Rabindranath Tagore * ''Gora'' (TV seri ...
, racial epithet for white people in India *
Gringo ''Gringo'' (, , ) (masculine) or ''gringa'' (feminine) is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner. In Spanish, the term usually refers to English-speaking Anglo-Americans. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country ...
, Spanish and Portuguese term *
Gujjar The Gurjar (or Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara) are an agricultural ethnic community, residing mainly in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were traditionally involved in agriculture, pastoral and nomadic ...
, nomadic tribe of Indian subcontinent


Notes


References

* Lev Tcherenkov, Stephan Laederich "The Rroma" * Raymond Buckland "Gypsy Witchcraft & Magic"


External links

* Ethno-cultural designations Exonyms Pejorative terms for strangers and foreigners Romani-related controversies Romani society Romani words and phrases {{Romani-stub