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Definition of plebs - 6 dictionary results

plebs

  [plebz]
Use plebs in a Sentence
–noun (used with a plural verb)
1. (in ancient Rome) the common people, as contrasted with the patricians and later with the senatorial nobility or the equestrian order.
2. the common people; the populace.
Origin:
1640–50; < L plēbs, plēbēs

pleb

  [pleb]
–noun
1. a member of the plebs; a plebeian or commoner.
2. plebe (def. 1).
Origin:
1850–55, Americanism; short for plebeian

plebe

  [pleeb]
–noun
1. Also, pleb. (at the U.S. Military and Naval academies) a member of the freshman class.
2. Obsolete. plebeian (def. 4).
Origin:
1605–15; short for plebeian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To plebs
pleb   (plěb)   
n.  A commoner; a plebeian.

[Short for plebeian, or perhaps back-formation from plebs.]
plebs   (plěbz)   
n.   pl. ple·bes (plē'bēz)

  1. The common people of ancient Rome: the plebs and the patricians.

  2. The common people; the populace.


[Latin plēbs; see pelə-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

plebe 
"member of the lowest class at a U.S. military academy," 1833, probably a shortened form of plebian (q.v.), which in L. had the short form plebs or plebes.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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