/ˈpipəl/Show Spelled[pee-puhl]Show IPAnoun, plural -ples for 4,verb, -pled, -pling.
noun
1.
persons indefinitely or collectively; persons in general: to find it easy to talk to people; What will people think?
2.
persons, whether men, women, or children, considered as numerable individuals forming a group: Twenty people volunteered to help.
3.
human beings, as distinguished from animals or other beings.
4.
the entire body of persons who constitute a community, tribe, nation, or other group by virtue of a common culture, history, religion, or the like: the people of Australia; the Jewish people.
5.
the persons of any particular group, company, or number (sometimes used in combination): the people of a parish; educated people; salespeople.
the ordinary persons, as distinguished from those who have wealth, rank, influence, etc.: a man of the people.
7.
the subjects, followers, or subordinates of a ruler, leader, employer, etc.: the king and his people.
8.
the body of enfranchised citizens of a state: representatives chosen by the people.
9.
a person's family or relatives: My grandmother's people came from Iowa.
10.
(used in the possessive in Communist or left-wing countries to indicate that an institution operates under the control of or for the benefit of the people, especially under Communist leadership): people's republic; people's army.
11.
animals of a specified kind: the monkey people of the forest.
to supply or stock as if with people: a meadow peopled with flowers.
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Peopledis always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Usage note People is usually followed by a plural verb and referred to by a plural pronoun: People are always looking for a bargain. The people have made their choice. The possessive is formed regularly, with the apostrophe before the -s:people's desire for a bargain; the people's choice. EXPANDWhen people means “the entire body of persons who constitute a community or other group by virtue of a common culture, history, etc.,” it is used as a singular, with the plural peoples: This people shares characteristics with certain inhabitants of central Asia. The aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere speak many different languages. The formation of the possessive is regular; the singular is people's and the plural is peoples' At one time, some usage guides maintained that people could not be preceded by a number, as in Fewer than 30 people showed up. This use is now unquestionably standard in all contexts.
c.1275, "humans, persons in general," from Anglo-Fr. people, O.Fr. peupel, from L. populus "people," of unknown origin, possibly from Etruscan. Replaced native folk. Meaning "body of persons comprising a community" first recorded 1292 in Anglo-Fr.; meaning "common people, masses"
(as distinguished from the nobility) first recorded 1306 in Anglo-Fr. The verb is c.1489 (intrans.), c.1500 (trans.). The word was adopted after c.1920 by Communist totalitarian states to give a spurious sense of populism to their governments. Legal phrase The People vs., in U.S. cases of prosecution under certain laws, dates from 1801. People of the Book "those whose religion entails adherence to a book of divine revelation (1834) translates Arabic Ahl al-Kitab.