THE FIRST WORD

canaille

PRONUNCIATION:

(kuh-NAYL, -NY) 

MEANING:

noun: The common people; the masses; riffraff.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French canaille (villain, rabble), from Italian canaglia (pack of dogs, rabble), from cane (dog), from Latin canis (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which is also the source of canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynic, and cynosure. Earliest documented use: 1676.

USAGE:

"The gang in the alley was not canaille; fine gentlemen from the court were raging here."
Isak Dinesen; Last Tales; Random House; 1957.