gypsy

Gypsy noun · Gypsy adjective · adjective · noun · verb · Gypsy proper noun

JIP-see/ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/

Pluralgypsies, Gypsies

14 meanings of gypsy

1
noun · Gypsyoffensivecountable
A person from the Romani people, or from another group whose way of life is traveling from place to place.
Her father is a Gypsy, and the family speaks Romani at home.
Gypsies have lived in Britain for hundreds of years.
UsageMany people prefer the word Romani.
SimilarRomani, Rom
2
Romani people'sadjective · Gypsyoffensive
Of or from the Romani people or one of their groups, such as the Roma or Sinti.
We danced to Gypsy music at the summer festival.
She grew up in a big Gypsy family with lots of cousins.
UsageSay Romani music instead when you can.
SimilarRomani, Romany
3
adjective
Moving from place to place, or like people who live that way.
The band lived a gypsy life, playing in a new town every night.
She has a gypsy spirit and loves to travel.
UsageUsed before a noun: a gypsy life. Some people find the word rude, so wandering is often better.
Similarnomadic, itinerant, wandering, roving, peripatetic
Oppositesettled, sedentary
4
nouncolloquialcountable
A person who keeps moving from place to place, who may or may not be Romani.
My uncle is a real gypsy and never stays in one town for long.
My aunt calls herself a gypsy because she has lived in ten states.
UsageYou can also say wanderer or drifter.
Similarwanderer, drifter, nomad, vagabond, rover
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of gypsy apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Gypsy, an old English name for the Romani people. It comes from "Egyptian," because people long ago wrongly thought they came from Egypt.