roma

IPA/ˈrəʊ.mə/
KK[rˈomɑ]IPA/ˈroʊ.mə/

roma — noun

1. a person who belongs to an ethnic group whose original homeland was northern Ind

1.nounB1
Definition

a person who belongs to an ethnic group whose original homeland was northern India. The traditional Roma way of life involves moving between different places rather than living in one fixed location. Today, Roma communities are found across Europe and in many other parts of the world.

Example

Kemi met a Roma family at a festival in Budapest and tried their traditional dishes.

collocation: Roma family / Roma community

This town's Roma community kept their language and traditions alive since arriving from northern India.

grammar: the + Roma + noun (attributive)

Common collocations
  • Roma community
  • Roma family
  • Roma people
  • Roma culture
  • Roma children
  • Roma musicians
  • ethnic Roma
  • the Roma
Synonyms
  • Romani

    often used as an adjective (Romani language, Romani culture); many community members prefer 'Romani' over 'Roma' for the adjective form

  • Romany

    an older spelling variant of 'Romani'; still found in some published works but less common today

Grammar Patterns

the + Roma

Roma + noun

Usage Note

The word 'Roma' is the preferred term for this ethnic group. The older term 'Gypsy' is widely considered offensive by many Roma people. 'Roma' is most commonly used as a plural noun ('the Roma'), but also works as an adjective before a noun ('Roma culture').

Common Mistakes

The Roma Empire fell in 476 AD.
The Roman Empire fell in 476 AD.
'Roma' is the name of an ethnic group; 'Roman' refers to the ancient city of Rome.
She is a Roma who lives in a house.' (grammatically unnatural)
She is Roma.' or 'She is a member of the Roma community.
'Roma' is typically a plural or uncountable collective noun, not used with 'a'.

Word family

  • Romani
    adjectiveB2
  • Romani
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Roma', 'Romani', and 'Romany' all refer to the same ethnic group, but they differ in grammatical use and preference. 'Roma' is most commonly used as a plural noun ('the Roma') or as an attributive noun ('Roma culture'). 'Romani' is the preferred adjective form for many community members — you would say 'Romani language' and 'Romani traditions' rather than 'Roma language'. 'Romany' is an older spelling variant of 'Romani' still found in books from the 20th century, but it is now much less common. In formal writing, use 'Roma' as the noun and 'Romani' as the adjective. For example: 'The Roma have faced discrimination for centuries.' / 'She studies Romani music and dance.'

Roma ↗RomaniRomany

Common collocations

Nouns

Prepositions

  • among the Roma
  • within Roma communities

Etymology

SanskritRomani languageEnglish

The word 'Roma' comes from the Romani language, in which 'rom' means 'man' or 'husband'. This Romani word can be traced back to the Sanskrit word 'domba', which referred to a low-caste group of traveling musicians in ancient India. The Roma people began migrating westward from the Indian subcontinent around the 6th to 10th centuries CE, eventually reaching Europe and later the Americas.