Rom
/rɒm/noun
A Romani person; in computing, ROM is an acronym for read-only memory.
Did you know?The ethnonym Rom comes from Romani rom, meaning “man” or “husband,” and is related to the community’s own name for itself rather than the exonym “Gypsy.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Indo-Aryan
Sanskrit
ḍomba
“A member of a traditionally itinerant or performing community; the proposed distant ancestor of Romani rom”
Middle Indo-Aryan
Prakrit
ḍom
“A person belonging to a related occupational or social community”
Medieval period
Romani
rom
“Man or husband”
20th Century
English
Rom
“A member of the Romani people; an English adoption of the community’s self-designation”
20th Century
English
ROM
“Read-only memory, a technical acronym formed from “read-only memory””