English → Latin
“people” in Latin
homō̆human, person, man; male human being, man; term of address to male peers, especially by another man: man, fellow, mate, ministerattendant, servant, slave, waiter; agent, aide; accomplicegēnsRoman clan (related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name and often united by certain religious rites); stock, nātiōbirth; nation, people; race, classgenusbirth, origin, lineage, descent; kind, type, class; species (general classification, as of living things), taxon (of anipopulusa people, nation; a community of people; the people, public, crowd, host, multitudeplēbsplebeians, plebs, common people; populace, population, stock; laity, congregation, parishvulgusthe common people; the public; throng, crowdcīviscitizen; a subject (i.e., a person subject to a ruler)cīvitāscitizenship and its rights; often referring to Roman citizenship.; the state, body politic, citizens of a territory (col
The English word people itself goes back to Latin populus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
people s.
Persons (general term), homines, plur.; frequently, however, in Latin, homines is omitted: (a) with adjectives; e.g., many people, multi; all people, omnes; good people, boni: (b) when followed by qui; e.g., there are people who say, sunt, qui dicant: there are people who believe, sunt, qui existiment: (c) in the phrase people (= persons generally, most men) say, dicunt; narrant.
Persons belonging to anyone, alicujus familia (the slaves, etc., collectively; Vid: Caes., B.G., 1, 4): alicujus famuli, ministri (servants): alicujus comites, qui aliquem comitantur (attendants): alicujus milites (soldiers); my, thy, etc., people, mei, tui (Vid: Plin., Ep., 5, 6, 46; of the servants): to belong to the people of anyone, esse ab aliquo.
Persons derived from a common origin, gens (as descended from one ancestor): natio (as belonging to the same country, and possessing the same national characteristics; so that one gens may include many nationes): genus (a race distinguished by certain peculiar excellences or good qualities): populus (a society of free citizens, or of men united under one common government; the Latins also used nomen in this sense to designate some particular people defined by the context; e.g., Hannibal, inimicissimus nomini Romano, to the Roman people): foreign people, nationes, or gentes, exterae; populi externi.
The inhabitants of a town, etc. populus (the people of all classes; distinguished sometimes from the principes or senatus, sometimes from the plebs): plebs (the lower orders; distinguished sometimes from the patricii, nobiles; sometimes from the populus): vulgus (the common people; i. e., not so much those of the lower ranks as those who are personally and individually inferior to others, being culpably ignorant, low-minded, or immoral): cives, civitas (the body of citizens): in the name of the people, publice: out of the pockets of the people, publice; publico sumtu; de publico (so that the people bear the expense): impendio publico (so that the people suffer loss): a man of the people, homo plebeius (in speaking of his descent): homo de plebe (in speaking of his actual position).
people v.
frequentare (incolis): to people a place with colonists, coloniam or colonos deducere, mittere aliquo (the former when a person himself leads the colonists to a place): peopled, frequens, celeber (populous; opposed to deseitus).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for people?
- The usual Latin words for “people” are homō̆, minister, gēns; also nātiō, genus, populus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.