 One theory considers that the word comes from the proto-Romani word for "peasant" and has the same root as the Romani word "gav" (a village).The word passed from Caló to Spanish slang as "gachó" (masculine) / "gachí" (feminine) acquiring the generalized meaning "man, guy" / "woman, girl".The Caló word for a non-Gitano is "payo"/"paya".