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canaille

 - 2 dictionary results

ca⋅naille

  [kuh-neyl; Fr. ka-nah-yuh ]
Use canaille in a Sentence
–noun
riffraff; rabble.
Origin:
1670–80; < F < It canaglia pack of dogs, equiv. to can(e) dog (< L canis) + -aglia collective suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ca·naille   (kə-nī', -nāl')   
n.  

  1. The masses of the people; the proletariat.

  2. Rabble; riffraff.


[French, from Italian canaglia, pack of dogs, rabble, from cane, dog, from Latin canis; see kwon- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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