everyman
everyman · everymen
In fiction, drama, or allegory, the archetypical ordinary individual, frequently the…In fiction, drama, or allegory, the archetypical ordinary individual, frequently the protagonist in a parable of some sort.
/ˈɛvɹiːˌmæn/
Meaning
1 sensesIn fiction, drama, or allegory, the archetypical ordinary individual, frequently the protagonist in a parable of some sort.
Near-synonyms: man on the street, John Q. Public (see more there)
In the novels of John Updike, sometimes Rabbit is his own man, and sometimes he is everyman.
More definitions
- the ordinary person
Origin
Perhaps from the Flemish play Elckerlijc (c. 1495) or its English translation Everyman (c.Perhaps from the Flemish play Elckerlijc (c. 1495) or its English translation Everyman (c. 1520).
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Forms
plural: everymenSynonyms
2 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsDerivedeverymanish
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Plural nouns — Because its plural is irregular