# gypsy
## English
### Alternative forms

* gipsy, gipsey, gypsey, gypsie (archaic)
* gyptian

### Etymology

See Gypsy. The generic usage that refers to any itinerant person.
Compare bohemian, from Bohemia.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɪp.si/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɪpsi

### Noun

gypsy (plural gypsies)
* (sometimes offensive) Alternative form of Gypsy: a member of the Romani people.
* (colloquial) An itinerant person or any person, not necessarily Romani; a tinker, a traveller or a carny.
** c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:Like a right gypsy, hath, at fast and loose, Beguiled me to the very heart of loss.
* (sometimes offensive) A move in contra dancing in which two dancers walk in a circle around each other while maintaining eye contact (but not touching as in a swing). (Compare whole gyp, half gyp, and gypsy meltdown, in which this step precedes a swing.)
* (theater) A member of a Broadway musical chorus line.
* (dated) A person with a dark complexion.
* (dated) A sly, roguish woman.
* (dated, colloquial) A fortune teller.

#### Usage notes

See notes at Gypsy.

#### Synonyms

* (contra dancing): gyre, gyp, gip

#### Derived terms

* dance gypsy
* gypsify
* gypsiologist
* gypsiology
* gypsycraft
* gypsy cream
* gypsy hat
* gypsyish
* gypsyism
* gypsy jazz
* gypsylike
* gypsy moon
* gypsy rose
* gypsy setting
* gypsy's kiss
* gypsy swing
* gypsy table
* gypsy tart
* gypsy truck
* gypsy wagon
* gypsy winch
* gypsywort

#### Translations
### Adjective

gypsy (not comparable)
* Alternative form of Gypsy: of or belonging to the Romani people.
* Itinerant; of or having the qualities of an itinerant person or group.
* (offensive) Of or having the qualities of an itinerant person or group with qualities traditionally ascribed to Romani people; making a living from dishonest practices or theft etc.

#### Usage notes

See the notes about Gypsy.

#### Derived terms

* gyp, gip
* gypsy cab
* gypsy moth
* gypsy mushroom

### Verb

gypsy (third-person singular simple present gypsies, present participle gypsying, simple past and past participle gypsied)
* (intransitive) To roam around the country like a gypsy.
** 1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XX, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 199 footnote:The rest of the day is spent out of doors "Gypsying", and families greatly enjoy themselves on these occasions.
* To perform the gypsy step in contra dancing.
** 1992 April 7, win...@ssrl01.slac.stanford.edu, “contra-gypsies”, in rec.folk-dancing (Usenet):Look at the person you're gypsying with, and convey the message that you notice them as a person and that you're glad that they're there, […]
** 1998 September 9, Jonathan Sivier, “Contra Corners - followed by gypsy”, in rec.folk-dancing (Usenet):The only one I know of is The Tease by Tom Hinds which starts with the actives gypsying and then swinging their neighbors and ends with contra […]

### See also

* bohemian
* knacker
* pavee
* pikey
* Rom
* Roma
* Romani
* Romanichal
* Sinti
* Sinto
* tinker
* traveler
* traveller
* vagabond
* vagrant
* Gypsy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### References

* “gypsy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.