salus populi suprema lex esto

[sah-loo s paw-poo-lee soo-prey-mah leks es-toh; English sey-luh s pop-yuh-lahy-soo-pree-muh leks es-toh]

Latin.

let the welfare of the people be the supreme law: a motto of Missouri.

vox populi

[voks pop-yuh-lahy]

noun

the voice of the people; popular opinion.Abbreviationvox pop.

Origin of vox populi

From the Latin word vōx populī

vox populi, vox Dei

[wohks poh-poo-lee wohks de-ee; English voks pop-yuh-lahy voks dee-ahy, dey-ee]

Latin.

the voice of the people (is) the voice of God.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for populi

Historical Examples of populi

The chorus represent the populi of Heaven, and voice the sentiments of the many.
Vondel's Lucifer
Joost van den Vondel
Salus populi suprema lex; and to it all international 'law' so called must bend.
Why We Are At War (2nd Edition, revised)
Members of the Oxford Faculty of Modern History
A side rubrical note, referring to the parts assigned to the populus or people, says, "Populi vox est et cantorum."
The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869
Various
Utinam Deus redimat nostro sanguino salutem Christiani populi.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Vol 2
J. H. Merle D'Aubign
Divinum judicium, populi suffragium, co-episcoporum consensus.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Volume V
J. H. Merle d'Aubigné

British Dictionary definitions for populi

vox populi

noun

the voice of the people; popular or public opinion

Word Origin for vox populi

Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for populi

vox populi

1540s, Latin, literally "voice of the people." The full maxim (first attested in Medieval Latin) is vox populi, vox Dei "the voice of the people is the voice of God." Short form vox pop attested by 1964.