Skip to content

everyman

noun

  1. stock character; an ordinary individual
L320288 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈɛvɹiːˌmæn/

noun

Etymology: Perhaps from the Flemish play Elckerlijc (c. 1495) or its English translation Everyman (c. 1520).

  1. In fiction, drama, or allegory, the archetypical ordinary individual, frequently the protagonist in a parable of some sort.

    Near-synonyms: man on the street, John Q. Public (see more there)

    In the novels of John Updike, sometimes Rabbit is his own man, and sometimes he is everyman.