zingaro

See also: zíngaro and Zingaro

English

Etymology

From Italian. Doublet of tzigane.

Noun

zingaro (plural zingaros or zingari)

1. (archaic) A Gypsy.
   • 1969, Georges Perec, translated by Gilbert Adair, A Void:

     Sporting a woolly cardigan with four buttons on top of an Oxford smock without a collar, our man has a faintly folksy look about him, calling to mind a zingaro or a gypsy, a carny or a Mongol, but also (switching to a wholly distinct mythology and iconography) a hippy strumming his guitar in a barroom in Haight-Ashbury or at Big Sur or in Katmandu.

Related terms

• Zincalo

Anagrams

• Gorzian

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛ̃.ɡa.ʁo/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

zingaro (plural zingaros)

1. zingaro

Further reading

• “zingaro”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Alternative forms

• zingano (archaic)
• zigano

Etymology

Dissimilated form of earlier zingano, most likely from a Greek term meaning "untouchable". Compare the modern Greek designations Τσιγγάνοι (Tsingánoi), Αθίγγανοι (Athínganoi), τσιγγάνος (tsingános). Cognate to German Zigeuner.

The word is considered to be offensive by some in educated speech, the most common preferred euphemisms being nomade (“nomadic”), Rom (“Romani”), Sinto (“Sindhi”) and rarely also gitano (“traveller”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^*/ˈd͡zin.ɡa.ro/, (traditional) ^*/ˈt͡sin.ɡa.ro/
• Rhymes: -inɡaro
• Hyphenation: zìn‧ga‧ro

Noun

zingaro m (plural zingari, feminine zingara)

1. Gypsy, Roma
   • 1975, “Rimmel”, in Rimmel, performed by Francesco De Gregori:

     Chi mi ha fatto le carte / mi ha chiamato vincente / ma uno zingaro, è un trucco.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (offensive) a scruffy or slovenly person
3. tinker
4. (figuratively) a person who likes to travel, who cannot stay a long time in one place
   • 1971, “Il cuore è uno zingaro”, performed by Nicola Di Bari:

     Catene non ha, / il cuore è uno zingaro e va.

     It has no chains, / the heart is a Gypsy and goes away.

Adjective

zingaro (feminine zingara, masculine plural zingari, feminine plural zingare)

1. (relational) Gypsy, Romani

Anagrams

• Garzoni, garzino, garzoni, grazino