people

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Human beings in general, considered as a group.

   There were so many people at the restaurant last night.

2. 2
   noun

   All the persons belonging to a particular nation, race, or community.

   The people of this country are proud of their history.

3. 3
   noun

   The members of your family or your close group.

   Your people have been farmers for generations.

4. 4
   verb

   To fill a place with people.

   Settlers gradually peopled the empty plains.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

People entered Middle English from Anglo-Norman French poeple, which came from Latin populus “populace.” The same Latin word also underlies population, populace, and popular.

From Middle English puple, peple, peeple, from Anglo-Norman people, from Old French pueple, peuple, pople, from Latin populus (“a people, nation”), from Old Latin populus, from earlier poplus, from even earlier poplos, from Proto-Italic *poplos (“army”) of unknown origin. Doublet of pueblo. Gradually ousted native English lede and, partially, folk. Originally used with singular verbs (e.g. "the people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness" in the King James Version of 2 Samuel 17:29), the plural aspect of people is probably due to influence from Middle English lede, leed, a plur…

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