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.


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CANVILLE - a town where tin cans live in harmony with each other.

Last edited by Bazr; 06/24/14 07:22 AM.
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