hoi pol·loi

(hoi′ pə-loi′)

The common people; the masses.

[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.]

Usage Note: The phrase hoi polloi comes from Greek, where it means "the masses," and properly used, the English word means the same thing. In our 2002 survey, 95 percent of the Usage Panel approved of the example Stars who had arrived in stretch limos were elbow-to-elbow with the hoi polloi who had come on the subway. But many people use the word to refer to the upper crust of society—the exact opposite of its etymological meaning. The confusion may have arisen because of the similarity in sound of hoity toity, which means "pretentiously self-important, haughty." A small but significant portion of the Panel (28 percent) accepted this usage in the example The luxurious sets in the movie evoke the lifestyle of the hoi polloi in the early 20th century. This suggests that some people will allow either meaning of the word, perhaps out of sympathy for fellow speakers of English who did not study Greek. A second problem is related to the word hoi, which is the Greek definite article. Thus, for those who know their Greek, the expression the hoi polloi is a redundancy meaning "the the masses." Nonetheless, 78 percent of the Panel said that they used the with hoi polloi. The expression is an English one, after all.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hoi polloi

(ˌhɔɪ pəˈlɔɪ)

pl n

often derogatory the masses; common people

[Greek, literally: the many]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hoi pol•loi

(ˈhɔɪ pəˈlɔɪ)
n.

the common people; the masses (often preceded by the).

[1815–25; < Greek: the many]

Hoi Polloi

the masses; the common people. See also commonalty.

hoi polloi

An ancient Greek term meaning the many, used to refer to the common people or masses.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

hoi polloi - the common people generally; "separate the warriors from the mass"; "power to the people"

masses, the great unwashed, multitude, people, mass

group, grouping - any number of entities (members) considered as a unit

laity, temporalty - in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy

audience - the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment; "every artist needs an audience"; "the broadcast reached an audience of millions"

followers, following - a group of followers or enthusiasts

hoi polloi

noun the common people, the masses, the (common) herd, the underclass, the populace, the proletariat, the lower orders, the rabble, the great unwashed (informal & derogatory), the plebs, the third estate, riffraff, the proles (derogatory slang, chiefly Brit.), canaille (French), commonalty Inflated costs are designed to keep the hoi polloi at bay.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

hoi polloi

noun

The common people:

common (used in plural), commonality, commonalty, commoner (used in plural), crowd, mass (used in plural), mob, pleb (used in plural), plebeian (used in plural), populace, public, ruck, third estate.

Translations

Pöbel

plebe populacho

lihtrahvaspööbel

plebs

hoi polloi

[ˌhɔɪpəˈlɔɪ] N the hoi polloi (hum, iro) → la plebe, el vulgo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hoi polloi

[ˌhɔɪpəˈlɔɪ] npl (= ordinary people) the hoi polloi → la plèbe

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

hoi polloi

n (pej) → Volk nt, → Pöbel m, → Plebs m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

hoi polloi

[ˌhɔɪpəˈlɔɪ] n (pej) the hoi polloi → la plebe

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

As a result, Hoi Polloi is currently looking for a head chef.

Could you cook up a storm?

Sandy Brour, a band from the south, performing at Hoi Polloi

When dark streets come to life

People should look at the facts, decide whether they value democracy and make up their own minds on June 23, rather than listen to a privileged, unelected, unaccountable Eurocrat shouting out of the window of the gravy train telling the hoi polloi how to vote.

Excellent example of the EU's ills

Perhaps if the hoi polloi of Acocks Green and elsewhere had graced us with their presence, rolled out of bed and attended home games against Forest, Charlton and Blackburn, the two losses and a draw might have turned into three wins?

Fans are key to push for the play-offs

Of course, the hoi polloi would not have been permitted to enter through the same door as the celebs and fashion royalty - that would be a step too far.

stylist JOANNE WATKINSON

He is desperate to stop people, the hoi polloi, the poor, the old and the disabled from starting a civil war.

SNP saved us from Cameron's excess

Would getting too close the hoi polloi be bad for her health?

3m reasons to be glum

This favoured brand of the hoi polloi was "roadside returns".

Roadside Returns were for the hard-up; FEEDBACK

Well, if the hoi polloi won't step forward, someone has to.

The race is kinda on; Gubernatorial field doesn't overwhelm

While the nation's elites while away their day in the deluxe parlours of their posh mansions in gossiping and eating or in the basements of their palatial homes brimming with seductive sparkling stuffs, it is the hoi polloi who turn out in multitudes to imbibe the day's gaiety to the fill.

Great tragedy