# The use of the word: CIGANO



## Khany

*I am thinking of starting a T-shirt business up and would like to call the brand name of the T-shirts “Cigano”- as in a Wanderer. I would like to know from the Portuguese and Brazilian people (mainly) would that name (cigano) in any way, be of any offence to anybody? (Having “Cigano” written on a T-shirt)*​


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## joanamcbarata

I don't know about Brazil, but in Portugal...
I mean, it should'nt be offensive, but some people use the word with a depreciative meaning, for example: "És tão cigano", which means dodger/shifty.


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## pauloamado

Hi, Khany. Welcome aboard.

Wanderer would translate better as "andarilho", "perambulador", I know that's not what you're asking and you probably knew that translation already.

As for "cigano" (Gipsy in Portuguese), the word has no offensive meaning, at least not that I know of (Brazil is huge as you know, so it could be in some regions).

Hope that helps.

Cheers!
Paulo.


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## Khany

What if you use the term (Cigano) as in; A wanderer/gypsy going through hardship, struggle, difficulty & affliction?


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## Vanda

Welcome, 

You can use cigano without hesitation. We have a song coração cigano, for example, meaning a heart who can't settle. We use the expression cigano for people who never settle, who are in constant mobility: from houses, jobs, cities, whatever.


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## IsaC

Well, if you intend to sell those t-shirts in Portugal you should definitely change the name because I don't think people would buy it, to be very honest. Here cigano is a depreciative word as Joana said.
But if it's in Brazil, then maybe it shouldn't be a problem.


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## MOC

I would buy it. I know a lot of people who would as well. But I agree with those saying a lot of people wouldn't because a lot of people use it as a depreciative word.


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## Benvindo

Vanda said:


> Welcome,
> 
> You can use cigano without hesitation. We have a song coração cigano, for example, meaning a heart who can't settle. We use the expression cigano for people who never settle, who are in constant mobility: from houses, jobs, cities, whatever.


 
- - -
I agree with Vanda; it would make for a pretty cool T-shirt brand (if no-one has thought of it yet!).
BV


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## ayupshiplad

Could it not be considered as a kind of 'fake racism'? For example, a friend of mine very recently (spookily recently in fact!) sent me a text saying I was a 'cigana pequena repugnante'. Here it's really common to have 'fake racism', and so I presumed the same sort of thing was acceptable in Brazil too?


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## IsaC

Your friend called you "cigana pequena repugnante"?? Was he joking? Because this is very offensive, at least in Portugal, I think in Brazil too. I don't know what you mean with fake racism, like calling someone "cigano" with an ironic sense, just kidding?

In Portugal is not that it sounds racist, is just that people don't like them much


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## Benvindo

... very offensive, ..., I think in Brazil too. 

- - -
Rather! Not because of the _cigana_, though, but because of the _repugnante_.
BV


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## avok

Khany if I were you I would use the word "vagabundo"


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## Khany

Hi avok,

What does the word "Vagabundo" mean?


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## joanamcbarata

Vagabundo: http://www.wordreference.com/pten/vagabundo


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## Khany

What would be the right pronounciation for "Cigano"?

Is it "See-gano" or is it "See-gaa-no"?


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## Vanda

See-gah-no.


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## Dona Chicória

Khany said:


> Hi avok,
> 
> What does the word "Vagabundo" mean?


 
Hi Khany,

Answering your question, "Vagabundo" (from the Latin Vagabúndus) means "wanderer"; but in Brazil it has a second and more important meaning: it indicates a lazzy person, or something of low quality (or cheap).

There is another word, however that might be useful : VAGAMUNDO. 

(Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguêsa, on-line version, should be credited
 here)


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## joanamcbarata

Dona Chicória said:


> Hi Khany,
> 
> Answering your question, "Vagabundo" (from the Latin Vagabúndus) means "wanderer"; but in Brazil it has a second and more important meaning: it indicates a lazzy person, or something of low quality (or cheap).
> 
> There is another word, however that might be useful : VAGAMUNDO.
> 
> (Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguêsa, on-line version, should be credited
> here)


 
I'd never heard the word "vagamundo", but it turns out it exists in European Portuguese too. I loved it, I think it's gonna be one of my favourite portuguese words from now on.


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## moura

Khany,

For cigano, we also say, sometimes more poetically like, zíngaro. I think it has a bizantin origin and I also think it is used in Italy, as well.


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## MOC

moura said:


> Khany,
> 
> For cigano, we also say, sometimes more poetically like, zíngaro. I think it has a bizantin origin and I also think it is used in Italy, as well.


 

Isso não será de uso regional? Nunca ouvi tal palavra.


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## avok

Dona Chicória said:


> Hi Khany,
> 
> Answering your question, "Vagabundo" (from the Latin Vagabúndus) means "wanderer"; but in Brazil it has a second and more important meaning: it indicates a lazzy person, or something of low quality (or cheap).
> 
> There is another word, however that might be useful : VAGAMUNDO.
> 
> (Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguêsa, on-line version, should be credited
> here)


 
"Vagabundo" I like this word, it reminds me of Daniela Mercury's "Nobre Vagabundo" and lazy and sunny afternoons


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## moura

Penso que a palavra "zíngaro" não será de uso regional, mas mais um termo que não é muito comum na linguagem corrente.
Nas páginas web portuguesas surge mais de 5.000 vezes, sendo no entanto a responsabilidade desta incidência muito da existência de um Carlos Zíngaro, um músico português.

Está aqui uma possível explicação das origens desta palavra (num dos comentários à notícia de fundo). Pessoalmente acho a plavra lindíssima, talvez porque a associo a algum imaginário poético com fogueiras, mulheres ciganas trajadas à antiga a bailar, homens ciganos a tocar bandolim...


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## moura

For Khany translation of previous message, answering about the possible regionalism of the word "zíngaro": 

I think the word "zíngaro" will not be of use regional, but more a term that is not very common in the current Portuguese language. 

At the Portuguese web pages Portuguese it appears more than 5,000 times, but the incidence is much because there exists a Carlos Zíngaro, a Portuguese musician. 

Here is a possible explanation of the origins of the word (one of the comments to the main news). Personally I think it is a beautiful word, perhaps because I associate it to some poetic imaginarium with campfires, ancient dressed gypsy women dancing and gypsy men playing the bandolin...


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## jazyk

> I think it has a bizantin origin and I also think it is used in Italy, as well.


Prendi questa mano, zingara


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## pauloamado

Só pra complementar as informações já dadas, o Houaiss traz a seguinte acepção para a palavra *zíngaro*: m.q. *cigano* ('próprio do povo cigano', 'relativo a ou indivíduo'). E indica no campo Etimologia que a palavra foi incorporada à nossa língua por adaptação do italiano _zingaro_.

Um abraço.
Paulo.


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