Mobs


 * Mob: The Etymology of a Word and Analysis of a Group **
 * by Alex Peña **

“Governments oppress people, but so do mobs. You need to avoid both to make progress.” – Jaron Lanier

Mobs are a type of group that have been present throughout human history flashing up in the heat of conflict to act on behalf of the people against faulty leadership and rival groups. Mobs have played a crucial role in the development of human history and the world as we know it today, with great influence on historical events. The word itself has it’s own story much like the groups that fall under the modern definition of the word mob.

The modern use of the word mob has quite a negative connotation, as it is often times used to refer to angry and violent crowds. . The Merriam-Webster Dictionary recognizes the word mob as meaning “a large group or crowd of people who are angry or violent or difficult to control” coming from the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning vacillating crowd (Mob [def. 1], 2013). While most people are fully aware of the “disorderly and riotous crowd” (Mob [def. 4], 2013) definition of the word mob, which was first known to be used around 1688 AD, many people are unfamiliar with other definitions of the word that have existed throughout history. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first appearance of the word mob (pronounced /mab/) was around the year 1655 AD usually used as a noun whose definition was “A wench, a slattern; a promiscuous woman; a prostitute” (Mob [def. 1], 2013). Another obsolete use for the word mob that many people are unaware of is its noun form meaning “a kind of brush used for stopping other organ pipes sounding while one is being tuned” (Mob [def. 2], 2013). This version of the word mob is most likely a variant of the word mop meaning “An implement consisting of a stick or pole to which is attached a thick bundle of loose strings, pieces of coarse yarn, etc., or (in later use often) a piece of cloth, sponge, or similar absorbent material, used to soak up liquid in cleaning floors and other surfaces, and (formerly) on ships for laying on pitch.” (Mob [def. 3], 2013). Synonyms of the word mob include other groupy words such as army, herd, horde, multitude, press, mass, throng, conspiracy, crew, and gang. The word mob appears to translate well into other languages; as it is a noun coming from Latin, it has direct translations from the words vulgus and turba in the other languages derived from Latin (e.g. Italian, Spanish).

Some sources indicate the word mob is derived from the word “mobility” being used as a pun on the word “nobility” [Mobility [def.] The Thieve’s Guild, 2013]. This might make sense if one thinks of the separation of classes at the time between the higher and lower socioeconomic groups (the nobility and the commoners). When a group of common people would gather against the nobility in order to riot, they became a very mobile group working as one unit and thus it was the “mobility” versus the “nobility”. Likewise, around the time of the first appearances of the modern use of the word mob (a riotous group or gathering of people) in the English language, there were many encounters the settlers of Europe were having with the Native Americans of the New World. Perhaps it is possible that the word arose as a result of groups of settlers or Native Americans picking up arms in order to fight one another. Meanwhile, in Europe, there was much religious strife as the Edict of Nantes had just been revoked by the Pope eliminating religious freedom of the region, The Glorious Revolution in England ended four years of Catholic rule in the nation that was primarily Protestant and the Ottomans forced their way deeper into Europe with the capture of Vienna in 1683. Europeans and American settlers alike were surrounded by “mobs” as we understand them today and that might be why the word makes its first appearance with the definition describing a crowd in 1688. An already negative word (used to point out a prostitute) was given another negative meaning.

In the more violent sense of the word mob, mobs tend to occur in the “storming” phase of groups. They seem to flare up as a result of polarizing events that reach a climax and drive people to experience extreme emotion. These extreme emotions can force them to express their feelings through anger and violence finding camaraderie with others who feel the same passion of opinion. There is often a lack of a distinguished leader, allowing groups to become somewhat anarchical causing things to escalate into chaos quickly. Currently, it is not uncommon to see mobs appear at the end of soccer games in Europe where the feeling and passion is so intense during a game, that by the time the game ends, all those extreme emotions find an outlet in the form of violence. This happens in terms of politics too and even in civil rights demonstrations. Events like Tiananmen Square or the Boston Massacre are examples where the participants of a mob feel such strong emotions that they express those emotions in some form of violence that causes police at the time responded with violence themselves. On the other hand, there are other kinds of mobs that have a bit more positive of a reputation. For example, flash mobs seem to be a festive kind of mob that is both fun and entertaining. Although this “mob” does not exactly conform to the definition of a mob, it has still been given the name “flash mob” which is interesting.

Mobs appear to be a natural group, formed not by one person but organically through similar thoughts and ideals and association with another group (e.g. a professional sports team, nationality, etc.). While the certain parties they exist in or groups they identify with might be long-term, mobs as we know them typically are short term entities that typically are fighting or working towards a similar goal (limited band in the Activity Scope). These two traits indicate that a mob is a “standing crew” type of group (McGrath, 1984). The entatitivity of the group is very strong, although in most cases, very short lived. Overall, mobs appear in the world as either sometimes a social group (because of their inclination towards a common goal), but most often a collective group that occurs spontaneously and whose life span is very short lived. Mobs tend to be a very large and cohesive group, allowing reactions to certain events to be very bad. As we see with flash mobs, not all mobs are necessarily bad nor destructive, but for the most part, that seems to be the case. Mobs demonstrate how groups can become more and more extreme the longer the group spends time together. As a result, mobs have a very negative reputation and the result is the modern definition that exists in the dictionaries today. Bibliography Mob [def. 1] (n.d.) Oxford English Dictionary Online, September 2013, from http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Mob&_searchBtn=Search Mob [def. 2] (n.d.) Oxford English Dictionary Online, September 2013, http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Mob&_searchBtn=Search Mob [def. 3] (n.d.) Oxford English Dictionary Online, September 2013, http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Mob&_searchBtn=Search Mob [def. 4] (n.d.) Oxford English Dictionary Online, September 2013, http://www.oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Mob&_searchBtn=Search Mob [def 1] (n.d.) Merriam-Webster Online, September 2013, http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mob McGrath, J. (1984). Chapter Four A Typology of Groups. From Groups: Interaction and Performance p43-44 Mobility [def.] The Thieves Guild, September 2013. Thieve’s Gant: Simple Thieve’s Gant. Retrieved at []