Mobbed

/mɑːbd/ verb

Definition

Surrounded or attacked by a large crowd of people; crowded around with overwhelming numbers.

Etymology

From 'mob' (shortened form of 'mobile vulgus' meaning 'the excitable common people' in Latin). Became a verb in the 1700s.

Kelly Says

The etymology 'mobile vulgus' is hilarious—it's literally Latin for 'the moveable commoners,' a dismissive phrase that captured exactly how authorities felt about crowds, and now it's our everyday word for a crowd.

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