British English: gypsy /ˈdʒɪpsɪ/ NOUN. A gypsy is a member of a race of people who travel from place to place in caravans, rather than living in one place. Some people object to this name, and prefer to be called Romany.
The term “gypsy” is a descriptive term used to describe people of Romani descent. To the people of this culture, the term is considered derogatory. The term “gypsy” has taken on a more general meaning over time. Today the term is used to describe anyone of any race, color, etc. that travels from place to place.
Roma (Gypsies) originated in the Punjab region of northern India as a nomadic people and entered Europe between the eighth and tenth centuries C.E. They were called "Gypsies" because Europeans mistakenly believed they came from Egypt. This minority is made up of distinct groups called "tribes" or "nations."
Gypsies (including English Gypsies, Scottish Gypsies or Travellers, Welsh Gypsies and other Romany people) Irish Travellers (who have specific Irish roots) Roma, understood to be more recent migrants from Central and Eastern Europe.
The families band together in clan systems, cordoned off from mainstream society. The familial structure is often strictly paternalistic, with women tending to home and children, while men may or may not work. Arranged marriage among adolescent brides and grooms remains common.
“Gypsy” is a racial slur for the Roma or Romani people with Romanian origins and originally of Indian decent. They speak Romani, which is a language similar Hindi or Persian.
Tommy Shelby and his kin are Irish-Romani (sometimes spelled Romany) Gypsies, a unique cultural and ethnic group present in Britain since the 1500s. The award-winning Peaky Blinders is directed by Steven Knight and has run for 6 seasons, the most recent hitting U.S. Netflix in June 2022.
“Roma” is the word (ethnonym) that the Roma use to describe themselves: it is the term for the members of that specific people and it is Romani for “man”. “Gypsy” is a derogatory, disparaging term – for many an insult — used by the majority population to define the Roma people.
Romani is the only Indio-Aryan language that has been spoken exclusively in Europe since the Middle Ages and whose vocabulary and grammar are related to Sanskrit. The language used by Romani people is a source of great pride, facilitating the connectivity and communication between people across the world.
Most Eastern European Roma are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Muslim. Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly Roman Catholic or Protestant. In southern Spain, many Roma are Pentecostal, but this is a small minority that has emerged in contemporary times.
The Shelbys are specifically of Irish-Romani descent, but they refer to themselves and other Romani with the blanket term “Gypsies” in the show. Tommy Shelby, the gang's leader, along with his siblings, Arthur, John, Ada, and Finn, have Irish-Romani heritage on both sides and consider themselves Gypsy.
Common Gypsy names
You may have Romani, Traveller or Gypsy ancestry if your family tree includes common Romani or Gypsy surnames such as Boss, Boswell, Buckland, Chilcott, Codona, Cooper, Doe, Lee, Gray (or Grey), Harrison, Hearn, Heron, Hodgkins, Holland, Lee, Lovell, Loveridge, Scamp, Smith, Wood and Young.
Background. Polly originates from the criminal Gypsy family the Shelbys. She's the daughter of Mr. Shelby and Birdie Boswell. Her brother is Arthur Shelby Sr. Polly tells her son Michael Gray that his grandmother was a Gypsy Princess.
The Roma do not follow a single faith, but are Catholic Manouche, Mercheros, and Sinti; Muslim Ashkali and Romanlar; Pentecostal Kalderash and Lovari; Protestant Travellers; Anglican Gypsies; and Baptist Roma.
Roma, singular Rom, also called Romany or Gypsies (considered pejorative), an ethnic group of traditionally itinerant people who originated in northern India but live in modern times worldwide, principally in Europe.
What does gorger mean? A gorger is a Romani word for a non-Romani person.
Romani communities are dispersed across all Australian states, with significant populations located in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Around 14,000 Roma live in Western Australia, mostly immigrants from Macedonia and their children. Nearly all lead sedentary lives.
Both Rom and Romany have been in use in English since the 19th century as an alternative for Gypsy. Romany is also spelled Romani, or Rommany.
In fact, our lives are quite the opposite. Although many are, not all Romany Gypsies nomadic; not all live in trailers, tents or wagons. You can be 'settled' in a house and still be Romany (Romany is the proper term for a Gypsy).
"The Billy Boys were protestants and the Conks, who centred on Norman Street, were Catholics." Mr Jeffrey said the main aim of the Billy Boys was to terrify the Catholic population, who were mainly Irish immigrants, and make them feel as unwelcome as possible.
Contrary to popular opinion (see below), the name of the gang may have actually originated with style: Peaky for their peaked caps and Blinder as Birmingham slang for a striking gentleman.
Cillian Murphy has revealed how he mastered a Brummie accent for his lead role as Tommy Shelby on Peaky Blinders. The 45-year-old actor admitted that he recorded pub goers in Birmingham, together with the show's creator Steven Knight, to convincingly turn his Cork accent into that of a Peaky Blinder.
Regardless of the origin theories, Lowland Gypsies are still viewed as a Romani group, with Romani culture being a part of Scottish Lowland Gypsy culture.
Yet the dedication to cleaning – born during nomadic days when keeping wagons clear from dust and dirt on the road was a tough undertaking for traveller women – remains important. As a result, cleaning is a process that takes priority over everything else – including school.