Romani people

The Romani people (/ˈroʊməni/ ^ⓘ or /ˈrɒməni/), also known as the Roma (sg.: Rom) or Romanies (sg.: Romany), are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are believed to be in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia.

Romani culture has been influenced by their time spent under various reigns and empires, notably the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. The Romani language is an Indo-Aryan language with strong Persian, Armenian, Byzantine Greek and South Slavic influence. It is divided into several dialects, which together are estimated to have over 2 million speakers. Many Roma are native speakers of the dominant language in their country of residence, or else of mixed languages that combine the dominant language with a dialect of Romani in varieties sometimes called para-Romani.

In the English language, Romani people have long been known by the exonym Gypsies or Gipsies and this remains the most common English term for the group. Some Roma use and embrace this term while others consider it to be derogatory or an ethnic slur.

Linguistic and genetic evidence reveal that the ancestors of the Romani people originated in South Asia. They likely came from the area corresponding to the regions of Punjab, Rajasthan and Sindh, in present-day Northwest India and Pakistan. Their northwestward migration occurred in waves, with the first wave believed to have taken place sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries. They are believed to have first arrived in Europe sometime between the 7th and 14th centuries.

The English word Rom derives from Romani rom, meaning 'man, husband' (plural romá). A common alternative is Romany as the singular in place of Rom, and Romanies as the plural in place of Roma.

The etymology of the word is unclear. The Oxford English Dictionary says it likely derives from Sanskrit ḍomba, meaning 'lower-caste person working as a wandering musician', itself deriving from a Dravidian word, such as domba, ḍomba ('caste of acrobats, jugglers, clowns'). This term came to be rendered as Dom, a term believed to have been used by the ancestors of the Romanies up until their settlement in Europe. The shift from Dom to Rom/Romani is believed to have been influenced by the Greek word Romaios, during the Romanies arrival and settlement in the Byzantine Empire, referred to by its inhabitants as Romanía.

In English, the form Roma is often reinterpreted as singular and a new plural, Romas, is formed.

Romani is the feminine adjective, while Romano is the masculine adjective. Some Romanies use Rom or Roma as an ethnic name, while others (such as the Sinti, or the Romanichal) do not use this term as a self-description for the entire ethnic group.