Gypsy Americans
Overview
The term Gypsy derives from Egyptian, reflecting a mistaken assumption of the origins of the people who refer to themselves as the Roma. Ethnic Gypsies are the descendants of diverse groups of people who were assembled in northern India as a military force to resist the eastward movement of Islam. Over the centuries, they moved westward into Europe and northern Africa, adapting their language and culture in their migrations. Gypsy Americans represent family groups from England (Romnichals), Eastern Europe (the Rom, subdivided into Kalderash, Lovari, and Machvaya), Romania (Ludar), and Germany. They sometimes entered the United States after residing in other parts of the western hemisphere for a period of time. An accurate estimate of their numbers is difficult to achieve. If counted in a census at all, it is typically by their country of origin. Estimates of the total population of ethnic Gypsies in the United States range from fewer than 100,000 to one million.
History
The Rom linguist W. R. Rishi gives the etymology of Rom from the Sanskrit Rama, with meanings that include "one who roams about." The number of Persian, Armenian, and Greek terms in the various Romani dialects reflect their migrations, just as those related to Sanskrit and Hindi point to theircommon origin.
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