hoi polloi
The common people; the massesThe common people; the masses. (Used with or without the definite article.)
» Semantic equivalence is protean as well as fuzzy: what hoi polloi find equivalent may to cognoscenti be quite distinct.
halfb1t · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(collective, plural, plural only)The common people; the masses. (Used with or without the definite article.)
Pöbel
ма́ссыmássy, простонаро́дьеprostonaródʹje, бы́длоbýdlo
the common people generally
(nonstandard, plural, plural only)The elite.
Examples
1 sentencesSemantic equivalence is protean as well as fuzzy: what hoi polloi find equivalent may to cognoscenti be quite distinct.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloí, “the many”).Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloí, “the many”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: hoi polloisSynonyms
30 synonymsAntonyms
1 antonymsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.