Gypsies

Gypsy (or Gipsy) is a word that has several overlapping meanings. Initially the word was used to describe a people who called themselves Romany who first appeared in England at about the beginning of the 16th century. Although in certain contexts it is still used to describe the Romany, it also describes those in English speaking countries who live a lifestyle similar to that of the Romany, or as a translation of equivalent words in other languages.

Etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) states that a gypsy is a "member of a wandering race (by themselves called Romany), of Hindu origin, which first appeared in England about the beginning of the 16th c. and was then believed to have come from Egypt". The OED records the first usage of the word in English as 1514, with several more in the same century, and that both Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare used the word.

The word derives from the word for "Egyptian" in Latin, the same as the Spanish Gitano or the French Gitan. It emerged in Europe, in the 15th century, after their migration into the land of the Romani people (aka [Roma people) in that continent. Hancock, Ian Romanies They received this name from the local people either because they spread in Europe from an area named Little Egypt, in Southern Balkans or because they fitted the European image of dark-skinned Egyptians skilled in witchcraft. During the sixteenth]] and seventeenth centuries it was written in various ways: Egipcian, Egypcian, 'gipcian, 'gypcian. As the time elapsed, the notion of Gypsy evolved including other stereotypes, like nomadism, exoticism.Hancock, Ian The ‘Gypsy’ stereotype and the sexualization of Romani women

English law

Gypsy has several different and overlapping meanings under English Law. Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, Gypsies are defined as "persons of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin, but does not include members of an organised group of travelling showmen, or persons engaged in travelling circuses, travelling together as such.",Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (c.62) The UK Statute Law Database this definition includes such groups as New Age Travellers, as well as Irish Travellers and Romany. Challenging Gypsy planning policies occasional discussion paper number 1 Human Rights as a Perspective on Entitlements: The Debate over ‘Gypsy Fairs’ in England, Essex Human Rights Review

Gypsies of Romany origins have been a recognised ethnic group for the purposes of Race Relations Act 1976 since CRE V Dutton 1998 and Irish Travellers in England and Wales since O'Leary v Allied Domecq 2000 (having already gained recognition in Northern Ireland in 1997). Travelling People in the UK: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, Traveller Law Research Unit,