Hoi polloi

Hoi polloi (Greek: οἱ πολλοί), an expression meaning "the many" in Greek is used in English to denote "the masses" or "the people", usually in a derogatory sense. For example, "I've secured a private box for the play so we don't have to watch the show with the hoi polloi." Synonyms for "hoi polloi" include "...commoners, great unwashed, multitude, plebeians, proletariat, rabble, rank and file, riffraff, the common people, the herd, the many, the masses, the working class".

The phrase became known to English scholars probably from Pericles' Funeral Oration, as mentioned in Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. Pericles uses it in a positive way when praising the Athenian democracy, contrasting it with hoi oligoi, "the few" (Greek: οἱ ὀλίγοι, see also oligarchy)

Its current English usage originated in the early 19th century, a time when it was generally accepted one must know Greek and Latin in order to be well educated. The phrase was originally written in Greek letters. Knowledge of these languages would serve to set apart the speaker from the common people who did not have that education.

The phrase has been the source of two controversies over its correct usage. One debate has been whether it is correct usage to include the English article "the" in front of the phrase, as is commonly done. Also, the phrase has at times been used to mean the exact opposite of its originally intended meaning.