I. ˈpē-pəl noun
( plural people )
Etymology: Middle English peple, from Anglo-French pople, peple, peuple, from Latin populus
Date: 13th century
1. plural : human beings making up a group or assembly or linked by a common interest
2. plural : human beings, persons — often used in compounds instead of persons
sales people
— often used attributively
people skills
3. plural : the members of a family or kinship
4. plural : the mass of a community as distinguished from a special class
disputes between the people and the nobles
— often used by Communists to distinguish Communists from other people
5. plural peoples : a body of persons that are united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, that typically have common language, institutions, and beliefs, and that often constitute a politically organized group
6. : lower animals usually of a specified kind or situation
7. : the body of enfranchised citizens of a state
• peo·ple·less -pə(l)-ləs adjective
II. transitive verb
( peo·pled ; peo·pling -p(ə-)liŋ)
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French popler, poeplier, from pople
Date: 15th century
1. : to supply or fill with people
2. : to dwell in : inhabit