- hoi polloi
- 1837, from Gk. hoi polloi (pl.) "the people," lit. "the many" (pl. of polys). Used in Gk. by Dryden (1668) and Byron (1822), in both cases preceded by the, even though Gk. hoi means "the," a mistake repeated often by subsequent writers, who at least have the excuse of ignorance of Gk.