hoi polloi

Etymology
.

Noun

 * 1)  The common people; the masses.
 * 2) * 1953 January, District of Columbia Library Association in Washington, D.C. Libraries, volume 24, number 1, page 1
 * But what, pray tell, is a “librarian”? Consult the same infallible source and you will learn: “One who has the care or charge of a library.” And where does that leave the most of us, hoi great unwashed polloi who have neither the “care” nor the “charge” of a library?
 * 1)  The elite.
 * 1) * 1953 January, District of Columbia Library Association in Washington, D.C. Libraries, volume 24, number 1, page 1
 * But what, pray tell, is a “librarian”? Consult the same infallible source and you will learn: “One who has the care or charge of a library.” And where does that leave the most of us, hoi great unwashed polloi who have neither the “care” nor the “charge” of a library?
 * 1)  The elite.
 * 1)  The elite.
 * 1)  The elite.
 * 1)  The elite.
 * 1)  The elite.
 * 1)  The elite.

Usage notes

 * Since is a definite article in Ancient Greek, some authorities consider the English construction the hoi polloi redundant (equivalent to "the the many/masses") and say it should not be used. In practice, the term usually is preceded by the (as the OED and Merriam-Webster also say).  Compare,.
 * The second definition contradicts the first; it arose from a misunderstanding of the term, probably under influence of such terms as and is often considered incorrect.

Translations

 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, ,
 * Danish: pøbel
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto: popolamaso
 * Estonian: lihtrahvas, pööbel
 * Finnish:
 * French:, , ,
 * Galician:
 * German:
 * Greek: οι πολλοί, ,
 * Hungarian:
 * Icelandic: lýðurinn, sauðsvartur almúginn
 * Irish: slua
 * Japanese: ,
 * Polish: ,
 * Portuguese: hoi polloi, ,
 * Russian:, ,
 * Spanish: ,
 * Swedish: ,

Noun

 * 1)  the common people