The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group and traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide with significant concentrations in the Americas. In the English language the Romani people are widely known by the exonym Gypsies (or Gipsies), which is considered pejorative by some Romani people due to its connotations of illegality and irregularity as well as its historical use as a racial slur. For versions (some of which are cognates) of the word in many other languages (e.g., French: Tzigane or gitan, Spanish: gitano, Italian: zingaro, Portuguese: cigano, Romanian: țigan and German: Zigeuner) this perception is either very small or non-existent. At the first World Romani Congress in 1971, its attendees unanimously voted to reject the use of all exonyms for the Romani people, including Gypsy, due to their aforementioned negative and stereotypical connotations. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Roma originated in the Indian subcontinent; in particular, the region of Rajasthan. They are dispersed, but their most concentrated populations are located in Europe, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, Southern France, as well as Western Asia (mainly Turkey). The Romani people arrived in West Asia and Europe around the 14th century.

Romani people - Wikipedia