gypsy

C1 Topic:People & Society

Also spelled gipsies and gipsy

US /ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/ UK /ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/ See IPA manual

Freq #6600

Meanings

1

noun
A person who travels from place to place rather than living in one fixed home.

He lived like a gypsy, moving to a new city every few months.
2

verb
To wander or roam from place to place.

After college they gypsied around Europe for a year with nothing but backpacks.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who travels from... itinerant traveller

Word family

Forms gipsyinggypsies

Derived forms antigypsygip gypgypluregyppygypsifygypsiologistgypsiologygypsycraftgypsydomgypsyesquegypsyish

Related forms bohemiandomknackerpaveepikeyromromaromaniromanichalsintisintotinker

Simplified etymology

Gypsy is recorded in English from the mid-16th century, originally in the form gipcyan, which was formed from Egyptian. The name reflects the mistaken belief that the Roma came from Egypt.

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. Doublet of Egyptian and Copt. The other major categories of words for the Roma are cognates of Rom (words related to…

Egipcian Middle English egyptien Old French aegyptianus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# gypsy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/
**Frequency rank:** 6600

## Meanings
1. A person who travels from place to place rather than living in one fixed home.
2. To wander or roam from place to place.

## Examples
- He lived like a gypsy, moving to a new city every few months.
- After college they gypsied around Europe for a year with nothing but backpacks.

## Derived Forms
- antigypsy
- gip
- gyp
- gyplure
- gyppy
- gypsify
- gypsiologist
- gypsiology
- gypsycraft
- gypsydom
- gypsyesque
- gypsyish

## Related Forms
- bohemian
- dom
- knacker
- pavee
- pikey
- rom
- roma
- romani
- romanichal
- sinti
- sinto
- tinker

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: Egipcian
- Root: egyptien
- Root: aegyptianus

## 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. Doublet of Egyptian and Copt. The other major categories of words for the Roma are cognates of Rom (words related to…

## AI Etymology
Gypsy is traced through 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. Doublet of Egyptian and Copt. In present-day use, it can mean a person who travels from place to place rather than living in one fixed home, or to wander or roam from place to place. Derived formations include antigypsy, gip, gyp, gyplure, and gyppy.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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