hoi polloi
/ˈhɔɪ pəˌlɔɪ/
"hoi-polloi" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hoi polloi” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The common people; the masses. (Used with or without the definite article.)
Corpus desk
Index EN-hoi-polloi · hoi polloi · English
hoi polloi · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hoi polloi |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhɔɪ pəˌlɔɪ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hoi polloi” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hoi polloi is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɔɪ pəˌlɔɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
hoi polloi doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloí, “the many”). The correct English form is hoi polloi, spelled H-O-I- -P-O-L-L-O-I.
Definition
- 1The common people; the masses. (Used with or without the definite article.)
- 2The elite.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hoi polloi appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The clientele is a select species of hoi polloi, intermixed with writers, painters and politicos and the more sophisticated American tourists.
But what, pray tell, is a “librarian”? Consult the same infallible source and you will learn: “One who has the care or charge of a library.” And where does that leave the most of us, hoi great unwashed polloi who have neither the “care” nor the “charge” of a library?
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloí, “the many”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.