‘Gypsies’ is an ambiguous term. It is used on the one hand as a universal term to denote ethnically and linguistically diverse populations of commercial nomads (also known as service nomads, itinerants, or peripatetics). In a more restricted sense, it often refers specifically to the Řom or Romanies of Europe, a population of Indian origin whose language is (or, in the case of some communities, was) a dialect of Romani – řomani čhib or řomanes, as it is usually referred to by its speakers (see Matras 2002). A further, mixed reading of the term ‘Gypsies’ might include …