populace
[pop-yuh-luh s]
- the common people of a community, nation, etc., as distinguished from the higher classes.
- all the inhabitants of a place; population.
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Origin of populace
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for populace
Contemporary Examples
He proposed among other things that police departments must better reflect the ethnic makeup of the populace.
He studied our use of language and the way that words are manipulated to manipulate the populace.
In order for the populace to lead balanced and productive lives, manipulative forces must provide scripted risk.
The Muslim populace who love and support you will never find palatable...the scenes of slaughtering the hostages.
Nor do members of Congress with close NRA ties who scare the populace and encourage sedition face any consequences.
Preparing for War in Indianapolis: Inside the NRA Plot to Terrify AmericaCliff Schecter
April 28, 2014
Historical Examples
Miss Hilton and Miss Parker and some of our girls composed the populace.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton CampusJessie Graham Flower
In this instance, the populace are more puritanic than the magistrate.
Old NewsNathaniel Hawthorne
Faithful ministers are rarely eulogised by the populace or the court.
Calderon The CourtierEdward Bulwer-Lytton
The populace were all civility to him so were the ministers.
There the authorities and the populace received us very well.
populace
- the inhabitants of an area
- the common people; masses
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Word Origin
C16: via French from Italian popolaccio the common herd, from popolo people, from Latin populus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for populace
n.
1570s, from Middle French populace (16c.), from Italian popolaccio "riffraff, rabble," from popolo "people" (from Latin populus "people;" see people (n.)) + pejorative suffix -accio.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper