people

people [pē′pəl]

n.

pl. peoples [ME peple < Anglo-Fr poeple, people < OFr pople < L populus, nation, crowd < ?]

1.

a) all the persons of a racial, national, religious, or linguistic group; nation, race, etc. [the peoples of the world]

b) a group of persons with common traditional, historical, or cultural ties, as distinct from racial or political unity [the Jewish people]

2. Archaic a group of creatures [the ant people]

pl.n.

1. pl. of PERSON (sense 1): see the note

2. the persons belonging to a certain place, community, or class [the people of Iowa, people of wealth]

3. the members of a group under the leadership, influence, or control of a particular person or body, as members of a group of servants, royal subjects, etc.

4. the members of (someone's) class, occupation, set, race, tribe, etc. [the miner spoke for his people]

5. one's relatives or ancestors; family

6. persons without wealth, influence, privilege, or distinction; members of the populace

7. the citizens or electorate of a state

8. persons considered indefinitely [people are funny]

9. human beings, as distinct from other animals

vt.

peopled, peopling [Fr peupler < the n.]

to fill with or as with people; populate; stock