canaille
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of canaille
1670–80; < French < Italian canaglia pack of dogs, equivalent to can ( e ) dog (< Latin canis ) + -aglia collective suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He knew nothing of that silent middle class that struggled between genteel poverty and the impossible desire of emulating the golden canaille to which he himself belonged.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
By reason of the riot, however, this teacher's, family had again become conspicuous; the pitiful canaille having allowed themselves to be soothed by an old woman.
From Villa Eden: The Country-House on the Rhine by Berthold Auerbach
One of the canaille, a jailer, was put on the witness stand and questioned briefly.
From In the Day of Adversity by John Bloundelle-Burton
I would not trust them further than the canaille itself; they are a white-livered lot in spite of their gaudy uniforms.
From Robert Tournay A Romance of the French Revolution by William Sage
You canaille you, vis your silly talk about ze organiste.
From Lady Maude's Mania by George Manville Fenn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
