demos

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the ordinary citizens or common people of an ancient Greek city-state; by extension, the populace or citizen body of a democracy

   The reform transferred greater political authority from the aristocracy to the demos.

2. 2
   noun

   an ancient territorial subdivision of Attica, or a municipality in modern Greece

   Citizens were registered through their local demos rather than solely through family descent.

From Ancient Greek dēmos, meaning the ordinary citizens or common people of a district or city-state. The political sense underlies democracy, literally government by the people. Demos is an etymological doublet of deme, the name for an Attic district.

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