hoi polloi
4
9.0
- noun
- /hɔɪ pəˈlɔɪ/
:
la plebe
- The hoi polloi of the art community mingle at the private party.
- hobnob with the hoi polloi
- mix with the hoi polloi
Examples
-
But when he gets on the national stage in a democracy, and he has to face the hoi polloi, he looks like the arrogant, cardboard robot that he is.
Blog text (29) -
the hoi polloi and well-bred agree each one has a royal pedigree born for success
-
Get the hoi polloi excited.
-
We used to have all the hoi polloi from town here in the stream.
-
We have to mix with the hoi polloi when we drink.
Fiction book (2002) -
What did I tell you about mixing with the hoi polloi?
-
Because, you see, Lewis transcended the American Hoi Polloi and became a celebrity!
Blog text (13) -
They're doing whatever the hell they want to do with our taxes, and the rest of us hoi polloi be damned.
Blog text (15) -
Indeed, until quite recently, philosophers did not put much stake in everyday speech; there is no shortage of examples of philosophical writers castigating hoi polloi for the "ordinariness" of their speech, thought, and ways of life.
Academic text (1991) -
At the festival, the hoi polloi danced joyfully, celebrating together under the stars.
Synonyms
264
1.0
Human beings in a group, for example in a country
18
6.0
The class of ordinary people often represented in parliament
16
1.3
People who are not rich or powerful
15
5.6
A large group of ordinary people in a society
3
8.8
Ordinary people who richer, more powerful people often talk about in a rude way
2
2.3
Ordinary people in a society who are not rich or powerful
1
7.2
Ordinary people who are not nobles or rulers
1
7.0
People who have little money and low social status
1
9.9
Ordinary people often seen as not cultured
People who are not rich or powerful
The people of a community as a whole
Antonyms
How Elite
Surface Forms
Morphology
hoi + polloi
Both constituents 'hoi' and 'polloi' are non-English (Greek) forms and are not recognizable or productive English words, so a B1 learner who only 'knows the constituent words' in English would not be able to derive the meaning. The phrase is a lexicalized borrowing/idiom in English meaning 'the common people', making its sense unpredictable from the surface parts and therefore opaque.
Etymology
Hoi polloi comes from Greek: hoi means 'the' and polloi means 'many'. English speakers borrowed the words to talk about ordinary people, so today hoi polloi means 'the common people' or the masses.