Word Origin & History
populate
1574, from M.L. populatus, pp. of populare "inhabit," from L. populus "inhabitants." Population "the degree to which a place is populated" is first recorded 1612, from L.L. populationem (c.470, nom. populatio) "a people, multitude," as if a noun of action from L. populus "people." Population explosion is first attested 1953.