# Hoi polloi (οἱ πολλοί)
**Hoi polloi** (οἱ πολλοί, [Ancient Greek](https://www.edgepedia.org/ancient-greek) for "the many") is an English phrase meaning the common people or the masses, usually with a dismissive or contemptuous tone. It is a plural-only noun borrowed from Ancient Greek, where it was a neutral collective term for the majority of citizens as opposed to the few.[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hoi-polloi) • [2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoi_polloi)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Meaning | The common people; the masses, often used derogatorily[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hoi-polloi) |
| Greek source | οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloí), literally "the many"; polloi is the plural of polys "many"[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi) |
| Entry into English | First recorded 1835–40; the phrase had been written in Greek letters in English text in 1668[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hoi-polloi) |
| Early English users | John Dryden (1668) and Lord Byron (1822) used the Greek phrase, in both cases preceded by "the"[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi) |
| Article controversy | Because hoi is the Greek definite article, some authorities call "the hoi polloi" redundant, yet the article is the usual form in practice[2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoi_polloi) |
| Reversed sense | An informal second sense, "the rich, socially prominent class," is recorded and its usage is objected to by many[4](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/hoi-polloi) |
| Deeper root | From the Proto-Indo-European root *pele- (1) "to fill," which also yields fill, full, folk, plebeian, and plenty[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi) |
## Meaning and register
Dictionaries record the phrase as a plural noun denoting ordinary people collectively. The British Collins entry marks it "often derogatory," and the COBUILD definition describes a humorous or rather rude reference to ordinary people in contrast to the rich, well-educated, or upper-class.[4](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/hoi-polloi) The cultural-literacy tradition notes that the phrase is often used to dismiss a popular preference as merely the opinion of the masses.[1](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hoi-polloi)
A reversed sense also circulates. Webster's New World records an informal American use meaning the rich, socially prominent class, with the note that this usage is objected to by many.[4](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/hoi-polloi) [Wiktionary](https://www.edgepedia.org/wiktionary) traces this second definition to a misunderstanding of the term, probably under the influence of words like hoity-toity, and says it is often considered incorrect.[2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoi_polloi)
## The definite article question
In the Greek phrase, hoi is the masculine plural nominative definite article, so the phrase literally contains its own "the."[2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoi_polloi) The American Heritage Dictionary's usage note explains that when classically educated speakers adopted the phrase into English, they naturally used it without an additional article.[5](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=hoi+polloi) In practice, however, the term usually is preceded by "the," a usage the OED and [Merriam-Webster](https://www.edgepedia.org/merriam-webster) also record, and some authorities who object to the redundancy compare it to accepted double borrowings such as alcohol and algebra, which likewise carry a fossilized Arabic article.[2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoi_polloi)
The controversy itself is recent. According to Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, proper use of the term did not become a subject of debate until the early 20th century, when the argument that it should not be preceded by "the" first began to be heard.[6](https://www.greatersudbury.ca/do-business/infrastructure-and-city-construction/engineering-services/technical-documents/other-standards/websters-dictionary-of-english-usage-pdf/) The earliest English-language users had already settled the matter in practice: Dryden in 1668 wrote "if by the people you understand the multitude, the οἱ πολλοί," and Byron in 1822 likewise preceded the Greek phrase with "the."[6](https://www.greatersudbury.ca/do-business/infrastructure-and-city-construction/engineering-services/technical-documents/other-standards/websters-dictionary-of-english-usage-pdf/) • [3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi)
## Greek background
In Ancient Greek, οἱ πολλοί was a descriptive political term for the many, the majority of citizens who were not part of the aristocratic elite, the hoi oligoi ("the few," the source of "oligarchy").[7](https://eclass.uth.gr/modules/document/file.php/HA_U_183/Polly%20Low-The%20Athenian%20Empire%20%28Edinburgh%20Readings%20on%20the%20Ancient%20World%29%20%282008%29.pdf) In the factional vocabulary of the late fifth century BCE, writers such as [Thucydides](https://www.edgepedia.org/thucydides) habitually applied words like polloi and plēthos to the popular, pro-democratic parties, against the minority factions they called oligoi or dunatōtatoi.[7](https://eclass.uth.gr/modules/document/file.php/HA_U_183/Polly%20Low-The%20Athenian%20Empire%20%28Edinburgh%20Readings%20on%20the%20Ancient%20World%29%20%282008%29.pdf) [Aristotle](https://www.edgepedia.org/aristotle) similarly distinguished hoi dēmotikoi, the common people who supported the existing democracy, from hoi gnōrimoi, the notables.[7](https://eclass.uth.gr/modules/document/file.php/HA_U_183/Polly%20Low-The%20Athenian%20Empire%20%28Edinburgh%20Readings%20on%20the%20Ancient%20World%29%20%282008%29.pdf)
Greek also had a related, more colorful phrase, hoi agoraioi, "loungers in the market, loafers, common, low men," from the adjective agoraios, "pertaining to the agora."[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi)
## Etymology
The English phrase is a learned borrowing from Ancient Greek οἱ πολλοί.[2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoi_polloi) Etymonline dates the anglicized form to 1837 and derives polloi from polys, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *pele- (1), "to fill," whose derivatives refer to abundance and multitude.[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi) The same root produced English fill, full, and folk, and, through Latin, plebeian, plebiscite, plenty, and plural.[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi) The Greek [collective noun](https://www.edgepedia.org/collective-noun) plēthos, from the same family, is the term more correct Greek writers on Roman history applied to the Roman plebs, the commonalty of Rome.[8](https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA%2A/Plebs.html)
The article hoi itself goes back to the Proto-Indo-European demonstrative *so-, "this, that," making it cognate with the English "the" and Latin sic.[3](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi) A standalone English use of "hoi" as a back-formation from the phrase is recorded as nonstandard.[9](https://openetymology.com/words/hoi)
## References
1. [Hoi polloi, Dictionary.com (Random House Unabridged; Collins English Dictionary)](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hoi-polloi)
2. [Hoi polloi, Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoi_polloi)
3. [Hoi polloi, Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoi%20polloi)
4. [Hoi polloi, Collins English Dictionary](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/hoi-polloi)
5. [Hoi polloi, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=hoi+polloi)
6. [Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (1989)](https://www.greatersudbury.ca/do-business/infrastructure-and-city-construction/engineering-services/technical-documents/other-standards/websters-dictionary-of-english-usage-pdf/)
7. [Polly Low (ed.), The Athenian Empire, Edinburgh Readings on the Ancient World (2008), excerpt on faction vocabulary](https://eclass.uth.gr/modules/document/file.php/HA_U_183/Polly%20Low-The%20Athenian%20Empire%20%28Edinburgh%20Readings%20on%20the%20Ancient%20World%29%20%282008%29.pdf)
8. [Plebs, in William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1875), LacusCurtius](https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA%2A/Plebs.html)
9. [Hoi, OpenEtymology](https://openetymology.com/words/hoi)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Social life and human behavior › Communities and populations › Minorities and social groups › Social class and stratification*
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