hoi polloi
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hoi polloi
- /ˈhɔɪ pəˌlɔɪ/
Rhymes with -ɔɪ
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloí, “the many”).
noun polloi
-
The common people; the masses. (Used with or without the definite article.)
The clientele is a select species of hoi polloi, intermixed with writers, painters and politicos and the more sophisticated American tourists.
Similar: canaille, commonality, commonalty, crowd, commonage, demos, everyone, general public, great unhosed, great unwashed, herd, hoi polloi · Opposite: elite
- The elite. Our moral standards sway Like Mrs. Tanqueray, And we are theoretically Most aesthetically Eager to display The fact that we're aggressively And excessively Anxious to destroy All the snobbery And hob-nobbery Of the hoi-polloi.
Translations
Every language
noun the common people
| Español | populacho, plebe |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 大衆 taishū, 庶民 shomin |
| 中文 | 民眾 /民众 mínzhòng, 庶民 shùmín, 大眾 /大众 dàzhòng |
| Português | hoi polloi, plebe, gentalha |
| Français | plèbe, populace, vulgum pecus, commun des mortels |
| Deutsch | Pöbel |
| Ελληνικά | οι πολλοί oi polloí, πλήθος plíthos, μάζα máza |
| Русский | ма́ссы mássy, простонаро́дье prostonaródʹje, бы́дло býdlo |
Talk about this word "hoi polloi." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hoi%20polloi. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hoi polloi. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hoi%20polloi "hoi polloi." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hoi%20polloi.Cite this
@misc{hoi_polloi_2026,
title = {hoi polloi},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hoi%20polloi},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
