a member of a people with dark skin and hair who speak Romany and who traditionally live by seasonal work and fortunetelling; they are believed to have originated in northern India but now are living on all continents (but mostly in Europe, North Africa, and North America)
<noun.person>
the Indic language of the Gypsies
<noun.communication> [ adj ]
of or relating to the Gypsies or their language or culture
<adj.pert> Romani nomads Romany folk songs a Gypsy fortune-teller
Romany \Rom"a*ny\, n. [Gypsy romano, romani, adj., gypsy; cf. rom husband.] 1. A gypsy.
2. The language spoken among themselves by the gypsies. [Written also {Rommany}.]
Gypsies, or the Romany as they prefer to be known, are descended from nomadic tribes that left northwestern India sometime during the first millenium and made their first recorded appearance in Western Europe early in the 1400s.
The meeting elected poet Rajko Djuric of Yugoslavia as president of the World Romany Union.
The Angels, he said, could become sitting ducks. "Hunting the red beret vigilantes could become a late night weekend sport." Romany Rix, a 16-year-old London recruit, said she believed in Sliwa's philosophy.