gypsy
Americannoun
plural
gypsies-
(initial capital letter) Roma.
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(initial capital letter) (not in technical use) the Indic language of the Roma; Romani.
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a person held to resemble a Roma, especially in physical characteristics or in a traditionally ascribed freedom or inclination to move from place to place.
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Informal. gypsy cab.
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Informal. an independent, usually nonunion trucker, hauler, operator, etc.
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Slang. a chorus dancer, especially in the Broadway theater.
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(in horse racing) gyp.
adjective
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(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Roma; Romani.
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Informal. working independently or without a license.
gypsy truckers.
noun
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a member of a people scattered throughout Europe and North America, who maintain a nomadic way of life in industrialized societies. They migrated from NW India from about the 9th century onwards
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( as modifier )
a Gypsy fortune-teller
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the language of the Gypsies; Romany
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a person who looks or behaves like a Gypsy
Sensitive Note
The Roma have commonly been called Gypsies . However, Gypsy is a word that has also been used as a disparaging slur for this ethnic group, and many Romani people find it offensive. The collective members of this tribe are best referred to with the plural noun Roma . To refer to an individual, Rom and Romani are the preferred singular forms.
Other Word Forms
- Gypsy-like adjective
- Gypsydom noun
- Gypsyhood noun
- Gypsyish adjective
- gypseian adjective
- gypsydom noun
- gypsyesque adjective
- gypsyhood noun
- gypsyish adjective
- gypsyism noun
- gypsylike adjective
- non-Gypsy noun
Etymology
Origin of gypsy
First recorded in 1505–15; back formation of gipcyan, variant of Egyptian (showing a loss of the unstressed initial syllable), from the mistaken belief that Gypsies came originally from Egypt
Vocabulary lists containing gypsy
Scrabble: Words with no Vowels
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Novel Study: The Alchemist, Pages 1–88
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Heat-treating wood, for example, can also help ward off the gypsy moth, spotted lanternfly and the Asian long-horned beetle, Tamm said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2024
Washington has had success over the past five decades in detecting and eradicating the pests — formerly known as gypsy moths.
From Seattle Times • May 9, 2024
In 2022, for instance, the Entomological Society of America adopted spongy moth for the invasive moth Lymantria dispar, getting rid of gypsy moth.
From Science Magazine • Sep. 5, 2023
He sent a beautiful old psychedelically-painted gypsy caravan to the island by helicopter in 1967.
From BBC • Nov. 20, 2022
On that suffocating noontime when the gypsy revealed his secrets, José Arcadio Buendía had the certainty that it was the beginning of a great friendship.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
