Names of the Romani people

Etymology

The demonyms of the Romani people, Lom and Dom share the same etymological origin, reflecting Sanskrit ** "a man of low caste, living by singing and music."

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

''Gypsy'' and ''gipsy''

The English term gypsy or gipsyFrom the Oxford English Dictionary (second edition, 1989; online version December 2011) Etymology section for the word gipsy: From the quotations collected for the dictionary, the prevalent spelling of late years appears to have been gipsy. The plural gypsies is not uncommon, but the corresponding form in the singular seems to have been generally avoided, probably because of the awkward appearance of the repetition of y.}} is commonly used to indicate Romani people, and use of the word gipsy in modern-day English 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. In the UK, the word Gypsy forms part of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller designation, to represent Romani people from groups who have resided in the UK since the 16th century, as opposed to Roma, who are understood to be linked to more recent migrations.

The word, while sometimes positively embraced by Romani persons, is sometimes rejected by other Romani persons and considered a racial slur with 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 House of Commons 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 United Kingdom 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 states a 'gipsy' is a The first usage of the word in English found by the OED was 1514, with several more usages in the same century, and both Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare used this word.

This exonym is sometimes written with a capital letter, to show that it designates an ethnic group. The Spanish term gitano, the French term gitan and the Basque term ijito 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 such as nomadism 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.

{{anchor|Use in English law}}Use in English law

The term gipsy has had several overlapping meanings under English Law. In the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, gipsies (not capitalised) were 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". This particular definition included non-Romani groups as Irish Travellers. However, it is commonly understood that the term is etymologically an exonym. It originates from Egyptian (a historical name for Romani people in Britain).

Romani "gipsies" have been a recognised ethnic group for the purposes of Race Relations Act 1976 since Commission for Racial Equality v Dutton 1989, as have Irish Travellers in England and Wales since O'Leary v Allied Domecq 2000 (having already gained recognition in Northern Ireland in 1997).

List of names

''Gypsy/Gipsy''

In several languages and historical cultures, Romani people were thought to come from Egypt.

• Basque: ijito
• English: gypsy/gipsy
• Spanish: gitano

''Tsinganoi''

In much of continental Europe, they are known by names related to the Greek term τσιγγάνοι (tsinganoi), from Byzantine Greek ἀθίγγανος (athínganos), which combines ἀ- (a-, "not") + θιγγάνω (thingánō, "touch"); compare to untouchable.

• Bulgarian: цигани, tsigani (Roma people)
• (synonym: Romové)
• , tsigani (synonym: ѓупци)
• (synonym: Romowie)
• , tsygane
• , tsyhani
• Germanic
  • (after Dutch)

Norwegian:

Romance

Other Indo-European

• Armenian: , gnčʿu
• Balkan Romani: Čingaren
• Caló (Spanish Romani): čingarár
• Hindi: चिंगारी Chingaari
• Persian: کولی, Koli
• (dialect: Çingan or Cingan, use of “Roman” is also widespread)

The name originates with Byzantine Greek ἀτσίγγανοι (atsinganoi, Latin adsincani) or ἀθίγγανοι (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.

An intriguing Sogdian occurrence of the adjective tājīgāne (arguably to be pronounced as tāžīgāne) in a Manichaean hymnal from Turfan of about the year 1000, may supply the missing link between Middle Persian tāzīg ‘Arab’ and Turkic/New Persian tāzik, tāžik ‘Persian’. The word resonates with Saʿdi’s later tājikāna cited above, with prior Sogdian attestations in documents from Mt. Mugh of the early eighth century (tāzīkānak, and its base tāzīk, both meaning indisputably ‘Arab’), and with slightly later occurrences of tāžīgāne, which “may still have meant ‘Arab’ or ‘Moslem’ in a more general sense,” since a “Persian general” (pārsīk) is mentioned in the same context (Sundermann, pp. 167-68). Problems with the Sogdian reflex of that vexatious middle consonant lead Sundermann to revise Schaeder’s interpretation and argue for a Parthian origin of Sogdian ž in this case (idem, p. 169: pointing out [p. 171] that the Ṭayyiʾ were established as allies of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty before they served the Sasanians). He argues finally that the tāžīg referred to here are Iranians, distinguished from the Sogdians as being speakers of New Persian (tāžīk, ‘the Muslim language’ for Sogdians—which Persians at that time called dari—as distinct from parsīk, which is Middle Persian), but that they are of course fellow Manichaeans, not Muslims. The Muslim Turks who were soon to rule the region (some of whose kinsmen were Manichaeans, too) thus took their designation of the local Persian population from the Sogdians. This definition of Tājik, if correct, would correspond quite closely to the modern one, in which language and location are fundamental, and religion is incidental. However, it would realign the modern Tajik view of the Sogdians as their ancestors, casting them rather as ‘the Other’ who bestowed the ethnonym Tājik in its definitive sense.

''Bohémiens''

Because many Roma 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.

• Basque: buhame (in the Northern dialects)

Roma

• (synonym)
• (synonym)
• Basque: erromintxela or txingartu (for Basque-speaking Romanies)
• Chinese: 罗姆人 Luōmǔrén
• Coptic language: ⲣⲱⲙⲁ Roma
• Japanese: ロマ Roma

Other

• Albanian: Arixhi (handler of bears)
• Arabic: غجر ghájar
• Estonian: mustlased (from the word "must" meaning dark(-skinned), black or dirty, and "-lane" denoting belonging to a group)
• Finnish: mustalaiset (from "musta" and "-lainen" analogously to Estonian above)
• Georgian: bošebi
• Hebrew: tsoʿănim (from the city Soan in Egypt)
• Kurdish قەرەچی, qaraçı (from Turkish); دۆم, dom
• Mingrelian: çaçanephi
• Spanish: calé In the English-speaking world, Romani people are commonly known as Gypsies, Romani Gypsies, Romany Gypsies, Romani and Romanies.

The Romani of England are commonly known as Gypsies or Romani, or Romanichal in Angloromani. The Romani of Scandinavia are commonly known as Romer or Tater, or Romanisael in Scandoromani*.* In German-speaking Europe, the self-designation is Sinti, in France Manush, while the groups of Spain, Wales, and Finland use Calé, Kalé and Kaale (from kalo meaning "black" in Romani language). Following the first World Romani Congress in London, usage of the Romani terms Rom (singular) and Roma (plural), have become increasingly widespread in Central and Eastern Europe.

While many Romani people feel compelled to hide their identity in fear of persecution, some people of Romani heritage do not consider themselves to be Romani.

In Bulgaria, a number of people of Romani heritage identify as Turks or Bulgarians and some identify as Romanians.

References

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