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definitions

Gipsy

or gip·sy

[jip-see]Chiefly British
noun, plural Gip·sies, adjective
  1. Gypsy.
Related formsgip·sy·dom, noungip·sy·esque, gip·sy·ish, gip·sy·like, gip·se·ian, adjectivegip·sy·hood, noungip·sy·ism, noun

Gypsy

[jip-see]
noun, plural Gyp·sies.
  1. a member of a nomadic, Caucasoid people of generally swarthy complexion, who migrated originally from India, settling in various parts of Asia, Europe, and, most recently, North America.
  2. Romany; the language of the Gypsies.
  3. (lowercase) a person held to resemble a gypsy, especially in physical characteristics or in a traditionally ascribed freedom or inclination to move from place to place.
  4. (lowercase) Informal. gypsy cab.
  5. (lowercase) Informal. an independent, usually nonunion trucker, hauler, operator, etc.
  6. (lowercase) Slang. a chorus dancer, especially in the Broadway theater.
  7. (lowercase) gyp1(def 4).
adjective
  1. of or relating to the Gypsies.
  2. (lowercase) Informal. working independently or without a license: gypsy truckers.
Also especially British, Gipsy, gipsy.

Origin of Gypsy

1505–15; back formation of gipcyan, aphetic variant of Egyptian, from a belief that Gypsies came originally from Egypt
Related formsgyp·sy·dom, noungyp·sy·esque, gyp·sy·ish, gyp·sy·like, gyp·se·ian, adjectivegyp·sy·hood, noungyp·sy·ism, nounnon-Gyp·sy, noun, plural non-Gyp·sies.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gipsy

Historical Examples of gipsy

  • They were not sure whether she were most Saracen, gipsy, or Jew.

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • Again I saw the dark, absorbed face of the gipsy as he studied my future.

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • It was like a gipsy's shed, where everything had to be done in common.

    His Masterpiece

    Emile Zola

  • Well, do you know I always thought I should love a gipsy life.

    The Christian

    Hall Caine

  • Some say his father was an Englishman, some say a Jew, and some say his mother was a gipsy.

British Dictionary definitions for gipsy

Gipsy

noun plural -sies
  1. (sometimes not capital) a variant spelling of Gypsy
Derived FormsGipsyish, adjectiveGipsydom, nounGipsyhood, nounGipsy-like, adjective

Gypsy

Gipsy

noun plural -sies (sometimes not capital)
    1. a member of a people scattered throughout Europe and North America, who maintain a nomadic way of life in industrialized societies. They migrated from NW India from about the 9th century onwards
    2. (as modifier)a Gypsy fortune-teller
  2. the language of the Gypsies; Romany
  3. a person who looks or behaves like a Gypsy
Derived FormsGypsydom or Gipsydom, nounGypsyhood or Gipsyhood, nounGypsyish or Gipsyish, adjectiveGypsy-like or Gipsy-like, adjective

Word Origin for Gypsy

C16: from Egyptian, since they were thought to have come originally from Egypt
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gipsy

alternative spelling of gypsy.

Gypsy

also gipsy, c.1600, alteration of gypcian, a worn-down Middle English dialectal form of egypcien "Egyptian," from the supposed origin of these people. As an adjective, from 1620s.

Cognate with Spanish Gitano and close in sense to Turkish and Arabic Kipti "gypsy," literally "Coptic;" but in Middle French they were Bohémien (see bohemian), and in Spanish also Flamenco "from Flanders." "The gipsies seem doomed to be associated with countries with which they have nothing to do" [Weekley]. Zingari, the Italian and German name, is of unknown origin. Romany is from the people's own language, a plural adjective form of rom "man." Gipsy is the prefered spelling in England.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper