They became known as “Gypsies” (which derives from the word “Egyptians”) under the erronious assumption that they came from Egypt.
The Romany language is a Sanskrit descendant, like other Indian and Hindu languages, thus being an Indo-European language, and cousin to English and German.
Hancock, Ian A Handbook of Vlax Romani 178 pages, 1995, Slavica Publishers, ISBN 0-89357-258-6
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