hoi polloi

Coming directly from Greek, hoi polloi literally means "the masses [of people]", according to both the AHD and OED. The usage examples given by the OED suggest that before the 19th century, writers would use the Greek alphabet to write out the words. This means that the phrase was adopted into English as a direct transliteration, much like our use of certain Latin phrases.

I was surprised that hoi polloi comes so directly from Greek (also that its actually two words). I never flagged it as sounding particularly Greek, and the rhyming aspect of it suggested to me that it might be a nonsense word coined by alliteration to another English word. I also thought that it might be related to hoity-toity, meaning either pretentious or boisterous, but both the AHD and OED only suggest a connection of hoity-toity to a word from Middle Dutch, hoyden. Hoyden refers to a high-spirited girl or a romp.

Well, that was two surprises for me about hoi polloi and hoity-toity, both of which are excellent words and playful additions to my vocabulary.

Picture credits: http://blogs.pioneerlocal.com/religion/2009/02/