With regard to the sometimes derogatory nature of the term, the word “gyp” might also be mentioned:
From Merriam-Webster
There is no term for any racial/ethic group which is not considered “offensive” by some.
and see,
Are you sure? Do the people of Britain take offense to being called a Brit by Americans? Do Yanks mine being called Yanks by a Brit?
I am sure there are many other exceptions, but these come to mind very quickly.
Great thread. It sounds like overall it is OK to refer to a group of Roma as gypsies but it would be insulting to a Roma to hear someone that moves around a lot called a gypsy. Is this generally correct?
Jim
Are you callin’ me a Yankee, boy? Are you implying that I would have anything to do with Yankees in any way, shape or form? Because if you are, I’m goning to have to ask you to step outside!
You are limiting the usage here. I said “There is no term for any racial/ethic group which is not considered “offensive” by some.” not “There is no term for any racial/ethic group which is not considered “offensive” by* everyone.”* Black dudes can call *each other *“Nigger” at times, do note.
I don’t know about the people of Britain take offense to being called a Brit by Americans- but one Irish poster in a recent PIT thread (about “Japs”) made it very clear that when he used Brit it was a racial slur. So, Brit can be offensive. It isn’t always, of course.
And fuck yeah- you call someone from the South a “Yank” and they will let you know just how deeply you have fucked up. So, Yank *can *be offensive, but it isn’t always.
Based on **Silenus’ ** half joke and your reply, I will withdraw my objection.
Jim
Rubbish. Who, exactly, considers “Swedish” offensive?
Swiss people, when called it by mistake.
Norwegians?
I’m very surprised that the Cambridge dictionary doesn’t have the derogatory definition:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=35099&dict=CALD
Isn’t the “pain or trouble” definition pronounced “gip?” Different derivation.
Ethnic rivalries die slowly.
My father (full-blooded Magyar) absolutely, positively considered “gypsy” or any derivation of it to be an ethnic slur, an insult or a full-fledged racist term.
He actually chewed out my sister when she once jokingly referred to our “gypsy blood.”
I’ve no idea how ‘gip’ is supposed to be pronounced 
I’d say it sounded like the first syllable of ‘gypsy’, certainly.
The Cambridge definition shows “d3ip” and d3=jump http://dictionary.cambridge.org/help/phonetics.htm
gip would begin with a hard ‘g’ as in give. Id.
OK, sorry…I’m certainly not fluent with phonetic systems. In relation to the Cambridge quote, I’ve never heard it anything other then “d3ip”.
(On preview - that 3 was put there by Windows as I copied it, and I’m not searching through Charmap to replace it 
)
It does in the Cambridge Dictionary of American English:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=gyp*1+0&dict=A
The Compact OED gives both pronunciations for the second meaning:
Nor am I. I was equally lazy, so I just put a three in there tagged as size 1. 
Brownie points for honesty!