Posted on 07/24/2006 4:07:48 AM PDT by xsmommy
Word For The Day, monday, 7/24/06
In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".
hoi polloi; n.
The common people; the masses.
Usage Note: Hoi polloi is a borrowing of the Greek phrase hoi polloi, consisting of hoi, meaning “the” and used before a plural, and polloi, the plural of polus, “many.” In Greek hoi polloi had a special sense, “the greater number, the people, the commonalty, the masses.” This phrase has generally expressed this meaning in English since its first recorded instance, in an 1837 work by James Fenimore Cooper. Hoi polloi is sometimes incorrectly used to mean “the elite,” possibly because it is reminiscent of high and mighty or because it sounds like hoity-toity. ·Since the Greek phrase includes an article, some critics have argued that the phrase the hoi polloi is redundant. But phrases borrowed from other languages are often reanalyzed in English as single words. For example, a number of Arabic noun phrases were borrowed into English as simple nouns. The Arabic element al- means “the,” and appears in English nouns such as alcohol and alchemy. Thus, since no one would consider a phrase such as “the alcohol” to be redundant, criticizing the hoi polloi on similar grounds seems pedantic.
Etymology: [Greek, the many : hoi, nominative pl. of ho, the; see so- in Indo-European Roots + polloi, nominative pl. of polus, many; see pel-1 in Indo-European Roots.]
Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence.
The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day.
The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-)
Practice makes perfect.....post on....
No wonder he hasn't been updating his blog much.
you know he had some phenomenal string of hole-in-ones in his first ever game of golf? well imagine what a lover such a man must be! /gag
He won't be ronery any ronger.
Hopefully his missle is more successful than the ones launched on the fourth of Jury.
ROR.
oh goodness. she could never live to tell the tale should there be a FAILURE TO LAUNCH....
Or if the the raunch onry rasts fifteen seconds.
Yes, we are. with luck (meaning weather conditions) we'll be watching it ringside in the water on our friends' boat. we'll make that final decision otmorrow.
Happy (early) Birthday!
We'll be there for the swim on Wednesday.........not on Thursday for the auction. there will be NO pony.
That's one reason why on my threads I keep Bush bashers outta here.
We'll be going to see him, my niece and her hubs in a couple of weeks in CA. This is No. 2 child for her, so hopefully, it will be an easy birth.
awwwwwwwwwwwwwww, that is CUTE! thanks!
you are SO mean, honestly! ; )
PERISH the thought!
Fine - I'll get one for xsbrownie..............
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