Hoi polloi

• Hoi polloi is from the Greek meaning ‘the many’ (people).
  • It was used by Pericles (495-429 BCE) to praise the Hoi polloi ‘the many’ of Democracy in contrast to the Hoi oligoi, meaning ‘the few’ of Oligarchy.
  • In English the term is used mockingly to denote the masses.

Back to Everyday Expressions that come from Ancient Greece