gipsy
pronunciation
How to pronounce gipsy in British English:
UK [ˈdʒɪpsi:]
How to pronounce gipsy in American English:
US [ˈdʒɪpsi]
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- Noun:
- a member of a nomadic people originating in northern India and now living on all continents
Word Origin
- gipsy
- gipsy: [16] In the 16th century, it was widely thought that the Romany people originated in Egypt. They were therefore called gipcyans or gipsens, which was simply an alteration of Egyptian. The modern form of the word developed in the 17th century (perhaps influenced by Latin Aegyptius). In American English the spelling gypsy is generally preferred. (Spanish gitano ‘gipsy’, incidentally, has a similar origin.)=> egyptian
- Gipsy
- alternative spelling of Gypsy. OED gives it precedence, and it is the main form for the word's entry in Century Dictionary, but Fowler writes that "the first y is highly significant, reminding us that Gypsy means Egyptian ...."
Example
- 1. Asked the gipsy , smiling wickedly .
- 2. Opposite a group of gipsy women were walking down the street .
- 3. This gipsy band has settled on the outskirts of algeshevo the most populated area in chuvashia .
- 4. If a gipsy man sees a woman with a kerchief on her head he cannot court her .
- 5. Men have a right to marry women of any nationality while women can marry only gipsy men .