Crossword Dictionary
rabble
mob, rabble, rout - n
a disorderly crowd of people
synonyms
proletariat, rabblement, ragtag and bobtail, riffraff, rout, scum, tag, rag, and bobtail (or tagrag and bobtail), trash, unwashed
in a sentence
the crown prince was reminded that even the rabble of the realm deserved his attention and compassion
a rabble of angry homeowners attended a court hearing
etymology
c. 1300, "pack of animals" (a sense now obsolete), of uncertain origin, but possibly related to Middle English rablen "to gabble, speak in a rapid, confused manner" (mid-14c.), which is probably imitative of hurry, noise, and confusion (compare Middle Dutch rabbelen, Low German rabbeln "to chatter").
The meaning "tumultuous crowd of vulgar, noisy people" is from late 14c., probably a back-formation from the Middle English verb. It was applied contemptuously to the common or low part of any populace, regardless of tumult, by 1550s.