țigan
Romanian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from a South Slavic (a)ciganinŭ (cf. Church Slavonic циганинъ (ciganinŭ)), from early modern Greek or late Byzantine Greek τσιγγάνος (tsingános) or ατσίγγανος (atsínganos), variant of Ἀθίγγανος (Athínganos), ultimately from either a word meaning "untouchable"[1][2][3](a compound of privative ἀ- (a-) + θιγγάνω (thingánō, “to touch”)), or the name of a Christian sect.[4] Compare Russian цыган (cygan), Hungarian cigány and German Zigeuner, which are from the same Greek source (as well as Italian zingaro, French tzigane, ultimately).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
țigan m (plural țigani, feminine equivalent țigancă)
Usage notes[edit]
The term țigani, an imprecise exonym for several groups, is loaded with negative connotations: historically, it implied the status of a slave ( Chattel Slavery in Romania); today, the Dictionary of Romanian Language defines a fi țigan (literally “to be Gypsy”) as "to be a dark-skinned person" or "to be a person with bad habits".[5][6] Careful speakers therefore refer to the Roma people by their self-designation, romi, or (to prevent confusion with the word român (“Romanian”)) its alternative spelling rromi. However, many Roma people in Romania use the term țigan when referring to themselves.
Declension[edit]
Adjective[edit]
țigan m or n (feminine singular țigană, masculine plural țigani, feminine and neuter plural țigane)
- (sometimes offensive, ethnonym) Gypsy
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 2004, Viorel Achim, The Roma in Romanian History (Bucharest), page 9
- ^ 2007, Jean-Pierre Liégeois, Roma In Europe, page 17
- ^ 1993, Struggling for Ethnic Identity: The Gypsies of Hungary (published by Human Rights Watch), page 1
- ^ 2010, Gabriela Brozba, Between reality and myth: A corpus-based analysis of the stereotypic image of some Romanian ethnic minorities, page 42
- ^ 2010, Gabriela Brozba, Between reality and myth: A corpus-based analysis of the stereotypic image of some Romanian ethnic minorities, page 42
- ^ 2007, Jean-Pierre Liégeois, Roma In Europe, page 159: In Romanian, the term țigan signifies a lazy good-for-nothing, and the plural țigani evokes not a culturally defined group but rather a disadvantaged, poverty-stricken community on the margins of society, with a status close to that of slaves […]
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