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In Romani culture, a gadjo (masculine) or gadji (feminine) is a person who has no Romanipen.[1] This usually corresponds to not being an ethnic Romani, but it can also be an ethnic Romani who does not live within Romani culture. It is often used by Romanies to address or denote outsider neighbors living within or very near their community.
Etymology
editThe exact origin of the word is not known. One theory considers that the word comes from the proto-Romani word for "peasant" and has the same root as the Romani word gav (a village).[2]
In Bulgaria
editThe word has been borrowed in Bulgarian as гадже [3] (gadzhe), meaning boyfriend or girlfriend.
In Spain
edit
The word passed from Caló to Spanish slang as gachó[4] (masculine) / gachí[5] (feminine) acquiring the generalized meaning "man, guy" / "woman, girl". The Caló word for a non-Gitano is payo/paya.[6]
In Portuguese
editThe European Portuguese words gajo (masculine) and gaja (feminine) originated in the Romani/Caló and are used in everyday language to refer informally to a man or a woman, in a usage similar to "guy" in English. The word gazim has been attested as a rare use in Brazilian Portuguese with the meaning of strange (i.e. foreign) woman, probably with roots in the Romani gadji.[7]
In Scotland and Northern England
editThe word is encountered as gadgie (or sometimes gadge), a term in Scots, formerly only used by the Roma/Traveller community, but since the 20th century in general use by the Scots-speaking population.[8] In most areas it is heard, notably Edinburgh, the Borders and Dingwall,[9] gadgie has a generalised meaning of a man that the speaker doesn't know well. In Dundee it is a more pejorative term, referring to a poorly educated person who engages in hooliganism or petty criminality. In the village of Aberchirder it refers to a born-and-bred local.[10]
See also
edit- Gadjo dilo ("The crazy gadjo") is a French-Romanian film about a Frenchman who travels to Romania to find a Romani musician.
- Goy
- Gringo
- Gora (disambiguation)
- Gujjar
- Gaijin
Notes
edit- ^ "Their name: Roma? Sinto? Gypsy?". USC Shoah Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 Dec 2023.
- ^ Danger! Educated Gypsy: Selected Essays. p. 103.
- ^ "Електронна библиотека Българско езикознание".
- ^ gachó in the Diccionario de la lengua española.
- ^ gachí in the Diccionario de la lengua española.
- ^ payo at the Diccionario de la lengua española.
- ^ Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. 1950. p. 142.
- ^ "Gadgie". Scots Language Centre. Archived from the original on 8 Dec 2023.
- ^ "Gadgie". Dictionary of the Scots Language.
- ^ "Gadgie". www.foggieloan.co.uk.
References
edit- Lev Tcherenkov, Stephan Laederich "The Rroma"
- Raymond Buckland "Gypsy Witchcraft & Magic"
External links
edit- "Excerpts from Roma by WR Rishi: Etymology of The Word "GAJO"". Archived from the original on 14 May 2008.
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