Etymograph

English

people

People comes from Old French pueple ‘a people’, from Latin populus ‘a people, nation’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *poplos ‘army’, of unknown origin.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*poplos‘army’reconstructed
  2. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEpoplos
  3. Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCEpoplus
  4. Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCEpopulus
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsame form‘a people, nation’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pueple‘a people’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400people
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500puple
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1607people

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*poplos‘army’reconstructed
  2. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEpoplos
  3. Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCEpoplus
  4. Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCEpopulus
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsame form‘a people, nation’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pueple‘a people’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400people
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500puple
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1607people

Earliest quotation: c. 1607, plaque recording the Bristol Channel flo: “XXII people was in this parrish drownd.”

The story

Gradually ousted native English lede and, partially, folk. "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.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’

public, full, complete, plus, fill, poll, plenty, folk, plain, comply, plural, ample, amplitude, amplify, plethora, puri, replenish, plenary, volk, plenum, fulsome, plebs, plebeian, 72 more

through Proto-Italic *plēō ‘to fill’

supply, accomplish, completion, manipulation, implement, supplement, complement, depletion, replete, deplete, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *poplos ‘army’

publication, publican, 3 more

through Old Latin populus

popularity, depopulation, 5 more

through Latin populus ‘a people, nation’

popular, population, pueblo, populous, populace, populate, poplar, 10 more

Another origin of people

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpopulus
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pueple‘a people’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600peuple
  4. Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600peupler
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500peplen
  6. Englishtodaypeople

Today it means

noun Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *poplos / people

Shirt and support for this word