Note 88 — D. (continued 2)

Connection between the Doms and Gypsies. 61. There seems reason to believe that some at least of the Gypsy tribes of Europe are akin to the Magahiya Doms; and a connection has been traced between their languages. Much speculation has been devoted to the term Romani, the designation of the European gypsies. According to one theory it means Roman or Roumanian. According to another “the word Rom in all the gypsy dialects of Europe has a twofold meaning signifying “man” and “husband” as well as “gypsy.” A satisfactory connection has still to be found for it, that connected with Râma, the incarnate Vishnu of the Hindus being discountenanced by the authority of Professor Ascoli of Milan. By a curious and unexplained coincidence the identical word Rom or Rome occurs with the meaning “man” in modern Coptic, and according to Herodotus belonged also to the language of the ancient Egyptians. Although this isolated fact in no way affects the general bearing of the question, it is worth noting as an etymological curiosity. It is not impossible that among the original elements of the Aryan mother speech may have existed a root ro or rom, expressive of power, the survival of which we can discern in the Greek romê, “strength,” the Latin robur, and perhaps in the illustrious name of Rome itself.” On the other hand Dr. Schrader88 suggests that the word robur in the sense of “oak” is the equivalent of arbor “a tree.” At the same time there seems some reason for believing that Romani in the sense of “a gypsy” may be connected with our Indian terms Dom and Domra.89