LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

vulgus

vulgus n sg or m sg (genitive vulgī)
Classical[ˈwʊɫ.ɡʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈvul.ɡus]
№ 675 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculineneutersingularuncountablethe common people
    Dīlēxī tum tē nōn tantum ut vulgus amīcam, sed pater ut gnatōs dīligit et generōs.I loved you then, not only as the common sort love a mistress, but as a father loves his children and sons-in-law.c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 72.3
  2. masculineneutersingularuncountablethe public
  3. masculineneutersingularthrong, crowd
  4. masculineneutersingulargathering

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

populus commūnis; multitūdō.
vulgus -ī n — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevulgus—
genitivevulgī
volgī		—
dativevulgō
volgō		—
accusativevulgus
vulgum, volgum		—
ablativevulgō
vulgū, volgō, volgū		—
vocativevulgus
vulge, volge		—

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

in ora vulgi abire
to be a subject for gossip.
vulgo dicitur, pervulgatum est
every one says.
efferre or edere aliquid in vulgus
to divulge, make public.
plebis dux, vulgi turbator, civis turbulentus, civis rerum novarum cupidus
a demagogue, agitator.

vulgus (volg-), i, n. (
I. masc., Att., Sisenn., and Varr. ap. Non. p. 230, 27 sq.; Verg. A. 2, 99; Phaedr. 4, 14; Liv. 6, 34, 5; 24, 32, 1; Lucr. 2, 920 et saep.) [Sanscr. várga, a group], the great mass, the multitude, the people, public (class.; cf.: plebs, turba).
I. In gen.: non est consilium in vulgo, non ratio, etc., Cic. Planc. 4, 9; Sall. J. 66, 2; Verg. A. 2, 39: quod in vulgus gratum esse sentimus, with the people, with the public, generally, Cic. Att. 2, 22, 3: in vulgus notus, id. ib. 9, 5, 2; Liv. 22, 3, 14; Tac. H. 1, 71; 2, 26 fin.; 2, 93 al.: apio gratia in vulgo est, Plin. 20, 11, 44, § 112.—
II. In partic.
A. A mass, crowd, throng, multitude of persons or animals: vulgus servorum, Ter. And. 3, 4, 4: mulierum, id. Hec. 4, 2, 24: patronorum, Cic. Brut. 97, 332: insipientium, id. Tusc. 2, 26, 63: densum (umbrarum), Hor. C. 2, 13, 32: inane (animarum), Ov. F. 2, 554: femineum, Luc. 7, 39: incautum (ovium), Verg. G. 3, 469: aequoreum, of sea-monsters, Sen. Hippol. 957.—
B. With an accessory idea of contempt, the crowd, the vulgar, mob, rabble, populace: sapientis judicium a judicio vulgi discrepat, Cic. Brut. 53, 198: ceteri omnes strenui, boni, nobiles atque ignobiles, vulgus fuimus sine gratiā, sine auctoritate, Sall. C. 20, 7: gratiam ad vulgum quaesierat, Liv. 6, 34, 5: quid oportet Nos facere, a vulgo longe lateque remotos? Hor. S. 1, 6, 18: odi profanum vulgus et arceo, id. C. 3, 1, 1: malignum Spernere vulgus, id. ib. 2, 16, 40: infidum, id. ib. 1, 35, 25: mobile, Stat. S. 2, 2, 123: fani pulchritudo et vetustas Praenestinarum etiam nunc retinet sortium nomen: atque id in vulgus; quis enim magistratus aut quis vir illustrior utitur sortibus? among the common people, among the populace, Cic. Div. 2, 41, 86: spargere voces In volgum ambiguas, Verg. A. 2, 99: alio pane procerum, alio volgi, Plin. 19, 4, 19, § 53: vulgus proceresque gemunt, Ov. M. 8, 526.—
C. Militari gratiora vulgo, the common soldiery, Curt. 3, 6, 19: vulgo militum acceptior, id. 7, 2, 33.— Hence, vulgō (volg-), abl. adv., prop. among the multitude; hence, in gen., before every body, before all the world, generally, universally, everywhere, all over, commonly, openly, publicly (syn.: palam, publice, aperte): num locum ad spectandum dare? aut ad prandium invitare? Minime, sed vulgo, passim. Quid est vulgo? Universos, Cic. Mur. 35, 73: ejusmodi tempus erat, ut homines vulgo impune occiderentur, id. Rosc. Am. 29, 80: vulgo totis castris testamenta obsignabantur, Caes. B. G. 1, 39: accidit, ut vulgo milites ab signis discederent, id. ib. 5, 33: vulgo nascetur amomum, everywhere, Verg. E. 4, 25: vituli volgo moriuntur in herbis, id. G. 3, 494: vulgo loquebantur, Antonium mansurum esse Casilini, generally, Cic. Att. 16, 10, 1: aliquid vulgo ostendere ac proferre, before all the world, openly, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 28, § 64; cf.: quas (litteras) vulgo ad te mitto, id. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 6, § 21: verum illud verbum est, vulgo quod dici solet, Omnes, etc., usually, Ter. And. 2, 5, 15; cf.: ut vulgo uti solemus, Quint. 9, 2, 8: hoc quod vulgo sententias vocamus, id. 12, 10, 48: victum vulgo quaerere, i. e. by prostitution, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 38; so, vulgo concepti, Dig. 1, 5, 23.

Origins

May be from Proto-Italic *wolgos or *welgos, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to throng, crowd”), whence also Welsh gwala (“sufficiency, enough”), Middle Breton gwalc'h (“abundance”), Sanskrit वर्ग (varga, “group, division”); see also Latin volvō (“to roll, turn over”) for the same or a similar root. Some have attempted, without success, to link it to Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁-go-s, whence English folk.

Descendants
  • Italianvolgo
  • Portuguesevulgo
  • Romanianvulg
  • Spanishvulgo
  • Galicianvulgo
  • Sicilianvulgu

In English words that came into English from vulgus

  • vulgarvulgāris
  • divulgedīvulgō
  • vulgarityvulgaritas
  • vulgatevulgātus
  • vulgovulgo
  • divulgatedīvulgātus
  • provulgateprovulgo
  • pervulgatepervulgo

Quick answers

What does vulgus mean in Latin?
vulgus, a noun, means “the common people; the public; throng, crowd”.
What is the genitive of vulgus?
The genitive singular is vulgī. vulgus is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce vulgus?
In classical Latin, [ˈwʊɫ.ɡʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈvul.ɡus].
Which English words come from vulgus?
English words that go back to Latin vulgus include vulgar, vulgo, divulge, vulgarity, vulgate and divulgate.