16 definitions by backpacker_x2

1. Originally used in Spanish to refer very specifically to a person of 50% European and 50% Amerindian descent.
2. Nowadays used to refer to any Hispanic person of mixed Amerindian and European descent, regardless of proportions. Sometimes even used as a general term for any Hispanic person of mixed racial origins.
3. Sometimes used to refer to the Hispanic culture of the Americas (as it is a mix of different indigenous, European and African cultures).

The cognate word in Portuguese is mestiço, while in French it is métis.

1. In its original, broadest and literal meaning, an immigrant is any person who lives in a country other than their country of birth.

2. Today the term “immigrant” is sometimes used with a more specific meaning: economic migrants, as opposed to people who retire abroad and international businessmen (who are both considered ex-pats); refugees; people serving abroad with the military or diplomatic corps; and international students.

1. Originally referred to poor, homeless itinerant workers in the USA. These original hobos travelled from town to town seeking temporary employment, usually along the lines of physical labour. They are traditionally associated with freighthopping (illegally riding in the carriages of freight trains). See also drifter, vagabond and okie.

2. Nowadays commonly used throughout the English-speaking world to refer to any homeless person. See also bum, tramp and beggar.

Originally a derogatory term for Romani people, who were known by the British population as gypsies because it was falsely believed that they originated from Egypt.

With the arrival of Irish Travellers in Britain, the terms "gyppo" and "gypsy" were also applied to these people.

Nowadays the term "gyppo", like "pikey", is often used as an insult to refer to anyone who is perceived to be poor, dirty, smelly and/or inclined to theft.

A person who's personal "culture" is a fusion of two or more cultures to which s/he was exposed during childhood. Often abbreviated to TCK.
Third Culture Kids are often multilingual, very accepting and understanding of other cultures and good at adapting to new environments.
Third Culture Kids are most commonly the children of members of the military, international businessmen or diplomats, though the term can also be applied to the children of immigrants.

Notable TCKs include:
Barack Obama (Anglo-American mother, Nigerian father; raised in Hawai'i and Indonesia)
Kim Jong-il (Korean parents; raised in USSR, North Korea and China)
Keanu Reeves (English mother, American father; raised in Lebanon, Australia, USA and Canada)
Pete Docherty (British parents; raised in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and England)

1. The Italian name for Rome, the capital city of Italy.

2. A traditionally nomadic people, also known as Romani, who left the Indian Subcontinent in around the 11th century and migrated to Europe. Nowadays they are found throughout Europe, with especially large populations in Andalusia, the Balkans and Central Europe. They have experienced much discrimination (known as antiziganism) throughout history, and were systematically murdered in the Holocaust alongside Jews. The Roma have their own language, which is more closely related to Hindi and Gujarati than to any European language. The similarity between the names of the Roma and the Romanians is purely coincidental, although there is a large Roma population in Romania. The Roma are sometimes known in English as gypsies, due to a historic belief that the Roma originated in Egypt.

A vague term used to refer to people who live some sort of "alternative", often artistic lifestyle. The term is associated - although not exactly synonymous - with the term hippie. The term originally came to be used in this sense in 19th century France, in an attempt to liken non-conventional artist types to Romani (gypsies), who the French associated with Bohemia in Central Europe (today part of the Czech Republic).