The Author of the present work wishes to state that the Vocabulary,

which forms part of it, has existed in manuscript for many years. It

is one of several vocabularies of various dialects of the Gypsy

tongue, made by him in different countries. The most considerable--

that of the dialect of the Zincali or Rumijelies (Romany Chals) of

Spain--was published in the year 1841. Amongst those which remain

unpublished is one of the Transylvanian Gypsy, made principally at

The Gypsies of England call their language, as the Gypsies of many other countries call theirs, Romany or Romanes, a word either derived from the Indian Ram or Rama, which signifies a husband, or from the town Rome, which took its name either from the Indian Ram, or from the Gaulic word, Rom, which is nearly tantamount to husband or man, for as the Indian Ram means a husband or man, so does the Gaulic Pom signify that which constitutes a man and enables him to become a husband.