vulgus

[ vuhl-guh s ]

/ ˈvʌl gəs /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vulgus ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural vul·gus·es for 2.

the common people; masses.

an exercise in Latin formerly required of English public-school pupils.

RELATED WORDS

commonality, bourgeoisie, Everyman, Everywoman, infrastructure, masses, multitude, proletariat, rabble, riffraff

Nearby words

vulgarity, vulgarize, vulgarly, vulgate, vulgate bible, vulgus, vulned, vulnerable, vulnerable phase, vulnerary, vulpecula

Origin of vulgus

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1680–90

Definition for vulgus (2 of 2)

ad captandum vulgus

[ ahd kahp-tahn-doo m woo l-goo s; English ad kap-tan-duh m vuhl-guh s ]

/ ɑd kɑpˈtɑn dʊm ˈwʊl gʊs; English æd kæpˈtæn dəm ˈvʌl gəs /

Latin.

in order to please the mob.

Origin of ad captandum vulgus

literally, for courting the crowd

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vulgus

So the table was cleared, the cloth restored, and the three fell to work with Gradus and dictionary upon the morning's Vulgus.
Tom Brown at Rugby|Thomas Hughes
Vulgus ex veritate pauca, ex opinione multa, stimat—The masses judge of few things by the truth, of most things by opinion.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
Now in the study that night Tom was the upholder of the traditionary method of vulgus doing.
Tom Brown's Schooldays|Thomas Hughes
So the table was cleared, the cloth restored, and the three fell to work with Gradus and dictionary upon the morning's vulgus.
Tom Brown's School Days|Thomas Hughes

Now in the study that night, Tom was the upholder of the traditionary method of Vulgus doing.
Tom Brown at Rugby|Thomas Hughes