people

Main Entry:: ¹peo·ple
Pronunciation:: \ˈpē-pəl\
Function:: noun
Inflected Form(s):: plural people
Etymology:: Middle English peple, from Anglo-French pople, peple, peuple, from Latin populus
Date:: 13th century

1plural : human beings making up a group or assembly or linked by a common interest2plural : human beings , persons —often used in compounds instead of persons<salespeople> —often used attributively <people skills>3plural : the members of a family or kinship4plural : the mass of a community as distinguished from a special class <disputes between the people and the nobles> —often used by Communists to distinguish Communists from other people5plural peoples : a body of persons that are united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, that typically have common language, institutions, and beliefs, and that often constitute a politically organized group6: lower animals usually of a specified kind or situation7: the body of enfranchised citizens of a state

— peo·ple·less

\-pə(l)-ləs\ adjective

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