Borrowed from Romani roma, plural of rom (“man, husband, Romani man”). The latter probably comes from Sanskrit डोम्ब (ḍomba, “lower-caste person working as a wandering musician”), from Sanskrit डमरु (ḍamaru, “drum”), which may have been borrowed from a Dravidian language. Folk etymology pointed to a legend that the ethnic group were an exiled people from Roman Imperial times.
The other major categories of words for the Roma are cognates of Gypsy (words related to Egypt) and cognates of tzigane (words derived from Greek); see those entries for more information.
Meanings
(not-comparable) Romani: of or pertaining to the Romani people.
Borrowed from Romani roma, plural of rom (“man, husband, Romani man”). The latter probably comes from Sanskrit डोम्ब (ḍomba, “lower-caste person working as a wandering musician”), from Sanskrit डमरु (ḍamaru, “drum”), which may have been borrowed from a Dravidian language. Folk etymology pointed to a legend that the ethnic group were an exiled people from Roman Imperial times.
The other major categories of words for the Roma are cognates of Gypsy (words related to Egypt) and cognates of tzigane (words derived from Greek); see those entries for more information.
Meanings
A Rom; a member of the Romani people.
My genes would best be described as a melting pot – my mother is part Bulgarian Roma, part Romanichal (English Romany), and my dad is part Romanichal, part Irish Traveller – thus, it was hardly surprising when I was born a blue-eyed milk bottle. 2013 October 25, Filip Borev, “I was a pale Roma baby – it's always been a family joke that I was stolen”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Aug 2022:
Borrowed from Romani roma, plural of rom (“man, husband, Romani man”). The latter probably comes from Sanskrit डोम्ब (ḍomba, “lower-caste person working as a wandering musician”), from Sanskrit डमरु (ḍamaru, “drum”), which may have been borrowed from a Dravidian language. Folk etymology pointed to a legend that the ethnic group were an exiled people from Roman Imperial times.
The other major categories of words for the Roma are cognates of Gypsy (words related to Egypt) and cognates of tzigane (words derived from Greek); see those entries for more information.
Meanings
A nomadic people with origins in India, the Romani.
A subgroup of the Romani people found primarily in Eastern Europe.
A variety of the Romani language (or occasionally) the Romani macrolanguage.
Forms
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Rroma
alternative
lexicographic
Translations (60)
eu ijito (the Romani people) · no Romanifolk (the Romani people) · yi ראָמאַני (the Romani people) · da romani (the Romani people) · pt rom (the Romani people) · nl Roma (the Romani people) · da roma (the Romani people) · sh Romi (the Romani people) · no Romafolket (the Romani people) · sv rom (the Romani people) · ca romanins (the Romani people) · id Rom (the Romani people) · cmn 羅姆 /罗姆 (the Romani people) · et Roma (the Romani people) · mk Ром (the Romani people) · ca romaní (the Romani people) · ru рома́ (the Romani people) · mr रोमानी (the Romani people) · sh Роми (the Romani people) · fr Rom (the Romani people) · sq Rom (the Romani people) · pl Romowie (the Romani people) · fr Roma (the Romani people) · ga Romaigh (the Romani people) · it Rom (the Romani people) · mk Ромка (the Romani people) · fr Rroms (the Romani people) · ar رُومَانِيّ (the Romani people) · es Romaní (the Romani people) · el Ρομ (the Romani people) · ko 롬 (the Romani people) · ca romaní (the Romani people) · eo Romaoj (the Romani people) · bg ром (the Romani people) · mk Роми (the Romani people) · ca romanís (the Romani people) · el Ρομά (the Romani people) · sk Róm (the Romani people) · ja ロマ (the Romani people) · sk Rómovia (the Romani people) · fo romi (the Romani people) · ro romi (the Romani people) · sq Romët (the Romani people) · sl Romi (the Romani people) · cs Rom (the Romani people) · br romed (the Romani people) · ka ბოშა (the Romani people) · ro Rom (the Romani people) · mr रोमा (the Romani people) · tr Romanlar (the Romani people) · hu romák (the Romani people) · yi ראָמאַ (the Romani people) · pt roma (the Romani people) · uk Роми (the Romani people) · fi romanit (the Romani people) · cs Romové (the Romani people) · es Romaníes (the Romani people) · rom rroma (the Romani people) · fr Roms (the Romani people) · de Roma (the Romani people)
From Latin and Italian Roma (“Rome”). Doublet of Rome and Rum.
Meanings
A number of places around the world: ▸ A town, the seat of the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia, from the Italian surname di Roma.
A number of places around the world: ▸ A settlement in Maseru district, Lesotho.
A number of places around the world: ▸ A town in Ascope province, La Libertad region, northern Peru.
A number of places around the world: ▸ A commune in Botoșani County, Romania.
A number of places around the world: ▸ A village in Valencia province, Valencia, Spain.
A number of places around the world: ▸ A locality in central Gotland, Sweden.
A number of places around the world: ▸ A city and border crossing point on the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas, United States.
A female given name from Latin of English-speakers.
Alternative form of Rome: ▸ A major city, the capital of Italy and the Italian region of Lazio, located on the Tiber River; the ancient capital of the Roman Empire.
O Roma, Roma, at thy feet / I lay this barren gift of song! / For, ah! the way is steep and long / That leads unto thy sacred street. 1881, Oscar Wilde, “[Rosa Mystica.] Rome Unvisited.”, in Poems, London: David Bogue, […], →OCLC, canto I, page 44:
But it would have been so nice to have a private income, and to be able sometimes to go to Venezia, Firenze, Roma, those places with the beautiful names. 1896, W[alter] D[elaplaine] Scull, “Mrs. Platt”, in The Garden of the Matchboxes and Other Stories, London: Elkin Mathews, page 94:
At Neapolis there was chaos as those who could flee Roma came to this port seeking escape. 1987 October, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, chapter 1, in A Flame in Byzantium, New York, N.Y.: Tor, →ISBN, part I (Belisarius), page 4:
Alternative form of Rome: ▸ A metropolitan city of Lazio, Italy
(historical) Alternative form of Rome: ▸ An ancient empire based out of the city of Rome, covering vast territories in Europe, Asia and Africa; in full, Roman Empire.