PEOPLES
peoples
(noun) the human beings of a particular nation or community or ethnic group; “the indigenous peoples of Australia”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Noun
peoples
plural of people (“race, group or nationality”)
Verb
peoples
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of people
Etymology
Proper noun
Peoples
A surname.
Source: Wiktionary
PEOPLE
Peo"ple, n. Etym: [OE. peple, people, OF. pueple, F. peuple, fr. L.
populus. Cf. Populage, Public, Pueblo.]
1. The body of persons who compose a community, tribe, nation, or
race; an aggregate of individuals forming a whole; a community; a
nation.
Unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Gen. xlix. 10.
The ants are a people not strong. Prov. xxx. 25.
Before many peoples, and nations, and tongues. Rev. x. 11.
Earth's monarchs are her peoples. Whitter
.
A government of all the people, by all the people, for all the
people. T. Parker.
Note: Peopleis a collective noun, generally construed with a plural
verb, and only occasionally used in the plural form (peoples), in the
sense of nations or races.
2. Persons, generally; an indefinite number of men and women; folks;
population, or part of population; as, country people; -- sometimes
used as an indefinite subject or verb, like on in French, and man in
German; as, people in adversity.
People were tempted to lend by great premiums. Swift
.
People have lived twenty-four days upon nothing but water. Arbuthnot
.
3. The mass of comunity as distinguished from a special class; the
commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; as, nobles
and people.
And strive to gain his pardon from the people. Addison
.
4. With a possessive pronoun:
(a) One's ancestors or family; kindred; relations; as, my people were
English.
(b) One's subjects; fellow citizens; companions; followers. "You slew
great number of his people." Shak.
Syn.
– People, Nation. When speaking of a state, we use people for the
mass of the community, as distinguished from their rulers, and nation
for the entire political body, including the rulers. In another sense
of the term, nation describes those who are descended from the same
stock; and in this sense the Germans regard themselves as one nation,
though politically subject to different forms of government.
Peo"ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peopled p. pr. & vb. n. Peopling (.]
Etym: [Cf. OF. popler, puepler, F. puepler. Cf. Populate.]
Definition: To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to
populate. "Peopled heaven with angels." Dryden.
As the gay motes that people the sunbeams. Milton
.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition