Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The common people; the masses.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
common people ; themasses . (Used with or without the definite article.) - noun nonstandard, disputed The elite (hoi oligoi).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the common people generally
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Greek, the many : hoi, nominative pl. of ho, the; see so- in Indo-European roots + polloi, nominative pl. of polus, many; see pelə- in Indo-European roots.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Ancient Greek οἱ (hoi, "the (plural)"), and πολλοί (polloi, "many").
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Examples
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So Ihad to smilewatching her squished like a salmon in Grant Park Tuesday night, just like hoi polloi.
You Get A Guest Spot! And You Get A Guest Spot! And *You* Get A Guest Spot! « TV BACON 2008
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I’m fascinated that you would quote writers for the WSJ and the NYT, two publications that are totally out of touch with hoi polloi.
Last gasp of the dark ages of nutrition | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. 2009
juicebox commented on the word hoi polloi
the general populace. masses.
March 2, 2008
lea commented on the word hoi polloi
Definitely a favourite of mine. Hoi=ohoy and pollo=chicken. Chickens, hello! Perfect.. in my inner dictionary. The languages I refer to are Finnish and Italian. But you probably knew that. (Ohoi is pirate language in Finnish.)
February 28, 2009
blehfu commented on the word hoi polloi
Our lordly style
You shall not quench
With base canaille!
(That word is French.)
Distinction ebbs
Before a herd
Of vulgar plebs!
(A Latin word.)
’Twould fill with joy,
And madness stark
The oί πoλλoί!
(A Greek remark.)
One Latin word, one Greek remark,
And one that’s French.
- Iolanthe, Gilbert & Sullivan
March 29, 2010
denmarel commented on the word hoi polloi
OK, I'm busted for my mistaken understanding that hoi polloi referred to the rich upper classes. Would it be OK to insert adjectives e.g. "hoi horny polloi" to describe "the horny masses." I was wondering; just a thought.
September 19, 2011
bilby commented on the word hoi polloi
Infixes tend to be used by English speakers for dramatic effect or sarcasm; the only non-marked use I can think of right now is with nicknames.
fan-fucking-tastic
James 'Catfish' Hunter
etc.
hoi horny polloi doesn't really work for me in a general sense. It might work in some kind of ironic context:
night lights ahoy!
hourgirls thread their cheap time among
shore-leave sailors, lewdly anonymous tourists and the
hoi horny polloi...
September 19, 2011
Dan337 commented on the word hoi polloi
Applauds bilby [working the unworkable] The construction bilby describes is also known as tmesis.
September 19, 2011
biocon commented on the word hoi polloi
Gk hoi (οἵ, masc. pl.) = the article "the;" Ionic Gk pοllοί (πολλοί, masc. pl. adjective) = many. Hoi polloi = the many, the majority, the masses, the plebes.
June 23, 2012
tankhughes commented on the word hoi polloi
I think this sounds similar to hoity toity and that's why some people think it means elite rather than common people.
January 23, 2024