zingaro

English

Etymology

From Italian.

Noun

zingaro (plural zingaros or zingari)

  1. (archaic) a Gypsy
    • 1969, Georges Perec, Gilbert Adair (translator), 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.

Italian

Alternative forms

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).[1][2][3] Cognate to German Zigeuner.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈt͡sin.ɡa.ro/, [ˈt̪͡s̪iŋɡär̺o̞], /ˈd͡zin.ɡa.ro/, [ˈd̪͡z̪iŋɡär̺o̞]
  • Hyphenation: zìn‧ga‧ro

Noun

zingaro m (plural zingari, feminine zingara)

  1. Gypsy
    • 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 quote)
  2. (offensive) a scruffy or slovenly person
  3. tinker

Adjective

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

  1. Gypsy (attributive)

References

  1. 2004, Viorel Achim, The Roma in Romanian History (Bucharest), page 9
  2. 2007, Jean-Pierre Liégeois, Roma In Europe, page 17
  3. 1993, Struggling for Ethnic Identity: The Gypsies of Hungary (published by Human Rights Watch), page 1

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