Perhaps from the term gypsy (“Roma”), due to a stereotype of the Roma as swindlers. Compare jew (“defraud”), from Jew, and welsh (“swindle by defaulting on a debt”), from Welsh.
Could also be derived from dupe, with the same pattern (yod coalescence) as idiot becomes eejit in Scottish English.
Meanings
(derogatory, offensive, sometimes) A cheat or swindle; a rip-off.
Why do we have to buy this new edition of the textbook when there’s almost no difference between it and the previous one? What a gyp!
bg измамник (a cheat or swindle; a rip-off) · bg циганин (a cheat or swindle; a rip-off) · bg мошеник (a cheat or swindle; a rip-off) · pl kanciarz (a cheat or swindle; a rip-off)
Perhaps from the term gypsy (“Roma”), due to a stereotype of the Roma as swindlers. Compare jew (“defraud”), from Jew, and welsh (“swindle by defaulting on a debt”), from Welsh.
Could also be derived from dupe, with the same pattern (yod coalescence) as idiot becomes eejit in Scottish English.
Meanings
(derogatory, offensive, sometimes) To cheat or swindle.
The cab driver gypped me out of ten bucks by taking the longer route.
You better watch out; they'll try to gyp you if you don't know what you're doing.
They're talkin' bout the night Santa went crazy
The night St. Nicholas flipped
Broke his back for some milk and cookies
Sounds to me like he was tired of gettin' gypped 1996, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “The Night Santa Went Crazy”, in Bad Hair Day:
On Wednesday, Goldberg used a derogatory term associated with Romany people while discussing former president Donald Trump, saying that his supporters are “people who still believe that he got gypped somehow in the election”. 2023 March 16, Maya Yang, quoting Whoopi Goldberg, “Whoopi Goldberg apologizes for using Romany slur on ABC’s The View”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Perhaps the same as Etymology 1. An earlier theory derived the term from Ancient Greek γύψ (gúps, “vulture”) (/ɡýps/; compare Greek γύπας (gýpas) /ˈʝi.pas/), "in reference to thievish habits of the servants" (and then derived Etymology 1 thence), but this does not explain the pronunciation.
Meanings
(historical, qualifier:Cambridge University; Durham University; Cambridge University; Durham University) A domestic servant, generally male, who would attend upon (usually several) students, brushing their clothes, carrying parcels, waiting at parties and other tasks; generally equivalent to a scout in the historical sense at Oxford University or a skip at Trinity College, Dublin.
Had he acted discourteously to his bedmaker or his gyp, he would have minded just as much … . 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, I [Uniform ed., p. 14]
'Why, what is the matter with you, John?' I asked of the gyp who waited on Vincey and myself. 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
All was neglect. The outer door of this room, which was open, was nearly on a level with the Quadrangle — some coats and trousers and boots were upon the ebony table and a "gyp" was brushing away at them just within the door — in wet weather he performed these functions entirely within the library, as innocent of the incongruity of his position as my guide himself. 1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, page 40:
(qualifier:Cambridge University; Durham University; Cambridge University; Durham University) The room in which such college servants work.
(qualifier:Cambridge University; Durham University; Cambridge University; Durham University) A small kitchen for use by college students.
The oldest wizard, Greyhald Spold of the Ancient and Truly Original Sages of the Unbroken Circle, leaned heavily on his carven staff and spake thusly: ‘Get on with it, Weatherwax, my feet are giving me gyp.’ 1986, Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic, published 2022, pages 33-34: