What is the difference between a gypsy and a witch?

Answer 1

There is no real difference to me execpt that gypsies use magick for pure good intentions and that witches use magick for all purposes. If you look up the spelling of magick you'll know why I spelled it like this.

A Bit More InformationGypsies or the Romani are an ethnic, sub-culture of nomadic people who's origins are central/Eastern Europe.

The Romani people have a much maligned history of prejudice and persecution.

The word "gypsy" comes from the Greek word for Egyptian, the place once thought to be the birth place of these nomadic people.

For centuries the Romani have been hounded from place to place, country to country and continent to continent. They have been discriminated against and accused of everything from petty theft, running elaborate scams, promiscuity, practicing witchcraft, and casting curses and the evil eye.

Witches are men and women (the word is NOT gender specific) who are practitioners of magic. Many, though not all, practitioners of magic follow one of many spiritual paths that can be loosely described as pagan. Wicca is just one of the many spiritual paths known as witches.

Not all pagans call or consider themselves witches, nor do they practice magic.

Magic (it is not necessary to spell it differently) is simply put, the manipulation of naturally occurring powers by the hand and will of a (hopefully) ethical practitioner.

There are Romani witches, but not all Romani are witches, nor are all witches Romani.

Answer 2

Some believe that many gypsies were witches because of the ways of the gypsy. This has no proof yet.
The Romany (gypsies) would take great offense at being call witches. Fortunetellers yes, witches no.

Romany, Romani, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the ROMANI (ROMANI is the people that is divided into various groups, like the notorious ROMA, the Romanichel, etc...) while ROMANY is the language. On the other hand, 'gypsies' usually find it very offensive to be called 'gypsies', and yes, usually they call some between them fortune tellers, and even clairvoyants, but they despise the word 'witches'.

Answer 3

For a start use capital letters for Gypsies. They are an ethnic group just like the English. They come from India and arrived in the UK about 1500. The have a language Romany derived from Sanskrit a Northern Indian language. Although not much used in Britain it is widely used in Europe.

Irish Travellers are another ethnic group obviously from Ireland. They have a language called Shelta also not widely used. The origin of the Irish Travellers is disputed. Some say they are descended from people evicted and forced to travel during the Famine of the 1830's but seems unlikely for their language to have developed in such a short period. Others say they are an older Irish nomadic people who have existed for centuries. Again some say from Cromwell's time of the 1600's.

In the UK there are also New Age Travellers, not a separate ethnic group but a social group who reject settled society and prefer a nomadic life.

The English based Romanies are called Romanichals descended from the long term Gypsies from the 1500's. Newer arrivals from Eastern Europe are called Roma and are less likely to be nomadic yet retain the language in everyday speech.

2) i am a scottish gypsy/traveller myself. I can tell you the 1st gypsies to arrive in the uk were in Scotland, I believe it was around the 1400s. The main diffrence between the nomadic groups is origins, Gypsies supposedly India, and travellers are European. Irish are not the only travellers, as i said, I am a scottish Traveller. There are also Norwegian and Swedish Travellers, as well as the Yeniche people who are the 3rd largest nomadic group in Europe. So the Romani Gypsies are from a diffrent continent, but in culture all nomadic groups share similarities