canaille, peerage of words

canaille

(kə-nī', -nāl')

n.

［n. 最下層民, 愚民.

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.]

peerage

ˈpɪərɪdʒ/

noun

plural noun: peerages

1. the title and rank of peer or peeress.

   "on his retirement as cabinet secretary, he was given a peerage"

   • peers as a class.

     noun: the peerage

     "he was elevated to the peerage two years ago"
   • a book containing a list of peers and peeresses, with their genealogy and history.

IN BRIEF: Noun- A member of the mob.

底下這 canaille 應該從它本義講 而不應該翻譯為群氓:
A well- educated gentleman may not know many languages,--may not be able to speak any but his own,--may have read very few books. But whatever language he knows, he knows precisely; whatever word he pronounces, he pronounces rightly; above all, he is learned in the PEERAGE of words; knows the words of true descent and ancient blood, at a glance, from words of modern canaille; remembers all their ancestry, their intermarriages, distant relationships, and the extent to which they were admitted, and offices they held, among the national noblesse of words at any time, and in any country.

The Project Gutenberg Etext of Sesame and Lilies, by John Ruskin