romany rye
Preserved but no longer current.
One who enters into the gipsy spirit, learns their language, lives with them as one of themselves, etc. Rye is gipsy for gentle- man. George Borrow's book with this title (a sequel to Lavengrd) was published in 1857.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “romany rye” mean?
One who enters into the gipsy spirit, learns their language, lives with them as one of themselves, etc. Rye is gipsy for gentle- man. George Borrow's book with this title (a sequel to Lavengrd) was published in 1857.
Is “romany rye” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.