Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
plural of person: a body of persons considered generally or collectively; a group of two or more persons.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, form-of, plural, uncountable
Synonyms: peeps, lede, leod
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: collective, countable
Synonyms: collective, community, congregation, folk
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A group of persons regarded as being servants, followers, companions or subjects of a ruler or leader.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Synonyms: fans, groupies, supporters
Antonyms: none provided
noun
One's colleagues or employees.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A person's ancestors, relatives or family.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Synonyms: kin, kith, folks
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The mass of a community as distinguished from a special class (elite); the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; the citizens.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Synonyms: populace, commoners, citizenry
Antonyms: none provided
noun
People in general, humans, by extension sentient beings real or fictional.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To interact with people; to socialize.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To become populous or populated.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To inhabit; to occupy; to populate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: group, grouping
Narrower terms: peoples, age group, age bracket, cohort, ancients, baffled, blind, blood, brave, timid, cautious, business people, businesspeople, damned, dead, living, deaf, defeated, discomfited, disabled, handicapped, doomed, lost, enemy, episcopacy, episcopate, folk, folks, common people, free, free people, homebound, initiate, enlightened, uninitiate, mentally retarded, retarded, developmentally challenged, network army, nationality, peanut gallery, pocket, retreated, sick, tradespeople, wounded, maimed, migration, class, stratum, social class, socio-economic class, nation, land, country, poor people, poor, rich people, rich, populace, public, world, population, coevals, contemporaries, generation, lobby, clientele, patronage, business, rank and file, smart money, unconfessed, unemployed people, unemployed, womankind, chosen people
noun
members of a family line
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: family, family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratry
noun
the body of citizens of a state or country
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: citizenry
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: group, grouping
Narrower terms: country people, countryfolk, Achaean, Arcado-Cyprians, Aeolian, Dorian, Ionian, electorate, governed
noun
the common people generally
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: multitude, masses, mass, hoi polloi, the great unwashed
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: group, grouping
Narrower terms: laity, temporalty, audience, following, followers
verb
fill with people
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: populate
verb
furnish with people
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: populate, dwell, live, inhabit
History
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 plural since Old English times; see lēode.
From Middle English peplen, peuplien, partly from Middle French peupler (from peuple (“people”)) and partly from the noun (etymology 1).
Across languages
631 source translations are retained for this English entry.
