people

[pee-puh l] /ˈpi pəl/
noun, plural peoples for 4.
1.
persons indefinitely or collectively; persons in general:
to find it easy to talk to people; What will people think?
2.
persons, whether men, women, or children, considered as numerable individuals forming a group:
Twenty people volunteered to help.
3.
human beings, as distinguished from animals or other beings.
4.
the entire body of persons who constitute a community, tribe, nation, or other group by virtue of a common culture, history, religion, or the like:
the people of Australia; the Jewish people.
5.
the persons of any particular group, company, or number (sometimes used in combination):
the people of a parish; educated people; salespeople.
6.
the ordinary persons, as distinguished from those who have wealth, rank, influence, etc.:
a man of the people.
7.
the subjects, followers, or subordinates of a ruler, leader, employer, etc.:
the king and his people.
8.
the body of enfranchised citizens of a state:
representatives chosen by the people.
9.
a person's family or relatives:
My grandmother's people came from Iowa.
10.
(used in the possessive in Communist or left-wing countries to indicate that an institution operates under the control of or for the benefit of the people, especially under Communist leadership):
people's republic; people's army.
11.
animals of a specified kind:
the monkey people of the forest.
verb (used with object), peopled, peopling.
12.
to furnish with people; populate.
13.
to supply or stock as if with people:
a meadow peopled with flowers.
Origin
1225-75; Middle English peple < Anglo-French poeple, Old French pueple < Latin populus. See popular
Related forms
peopleless, adjective
peopler, noun
outpeople, verb (used with object), outpeopled, outpeopling.
underpeopled, adjective
well-peopled, adjective
Can be confused
individual, party, people, person (see usage note at party; see usage note at the current entry; see synonym study at person)
Synonyms
4. See race2 .
Usage note
People is usually followed by a plural verb and referred to by a plural pronoun: People are always looking for a bargain. The people have made their choice. The possessive is formed regularly, with the apostrophe before the -s: people's desire for a bargain; the people's choice. When people means “the entire body of persons who constitute a community or other group by virtue of a common culture, history, etc.,” it is used as a singular, with the plural peoples: This people shares characteristics with certain inhabitants of central Asia. The aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere speak many different languages. The formation of the possessive is regular; the singular is people's and the plural is peoples'.
At one time, some usage guides maintained that people could not be preceded by a number, as in Fewer than 30 people showed up. This use is now unquestionably standard in all contexts.
Grammar note
See person.

person

[pur-suh n] /ˈpɜr sən/
noun
1.
a human being, whether an adult or child:
The table seats four persons.
2.
a human being as distinguished from an animal or a thing.
3.
an individual human being who likes or prefers something specified (used in combination):
I've never been a cat person.
4.
Sociology. an individual human being, especially with reference to his or her social relationships and behavioral patterns as conditioned by the culture.
5.
Philosophy. a self-conscious or rational being.
6.
the actual self or individual personality of a human being:
You ought not to generalize, but to consider the person you are dealing with.
7.
the body of a living human being, sometimes including the clothes being worn:
He had no money on his person.
8.
the body in its external aspect:
an attractive person to look at.
9.
a character, part, or role, as in a play or story.
10.
an individual of distinction or importance.
11.
a person not entitled to social recognition or respect.
12.
Law. a human being (natural person) or a group of human beings, a corporation, a partnership, an estate, or other legal entity (artificial person or juristic person) recognized by law as having rights and duties.
13.
Grammar. a category found in many languages that is used to distinguish between the speaker of an utterance and those to or about whom he or she is speaking. In English there are three persons in the pronouns, the first represented by I and we, the second by you, and the third by he, she, it, and they. Most verbs have distinct third person singular forms in the present tense, as writes; the verb be has, in addition, a first person singular form am.
14.
Theology. any of the three hypostases or modes of being in the Trinity, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Idioms
15.
be one's own person, to be free from restrictions, control, or dictatorial influence:
Now that she's working, she feels that she's her own person.
16.
in person, in one's own bodily presence; personally:
Applicants are requested to apply in person.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English persone < Latin persōna role (in life, a play, or a tale) (Late Latin: member of the Trinity), orig. actor's mask < Etruscan phersu (< Greek prósōpa face, mask) + -na a suffix
Related forms
multiperson, adjective
superperson, noun
Can be confused
individual, party, people, person (see usage note at party; see usage note at people; see synonym study at the current entry)
Synonyms
1. Person, individual, personage are terms applied to human beings. Person is the most general and common word: the average person. Individual views a person as standing alone or as a single member of a group: the characteristics of the individual; its implication is sometimes derogatory: a disagreeable individual. Personage is used (sometimes ironically) of an outstanding or illustrious person: We have a distinguished personage visiting us today.
Usage note
See individual, party, people, they.
Grammar note
There is understandable confusion about the plural of this word. Is it persons or people? Person—like other regular English nouns—constructs its grammatical plural by adding -s, forming persons. This has been so since person came into Middle English in the late twelfth century. But as far back as the fourteenth century, some writers, including the poet Chaucer, were using an entirely different word—people, not persons—as the functional plural of person. And today, people seems more natural, especially in casual, informal conversation or writing.
Using people as a plural of person has not always been free of controversy. From the mid nineteenth to the late twentieth century, the use of people instead of persons was hotly contested; and among some news publications, book publishers, and writers of usage books, it was expressly forbidden. To quell the fires of the argument, some usage authorities attempted to regulate use of the two forms—recommending persons when counting a small, specific number of individuals (Three persons were injured in the accident) and people when referring to a large, round, or uncountable number (More than two thousand people bought tickets on the first day; People crowded around the exhibit, blocking it from view).
But efforts to impose such precise rules in language usually fail. This rule does not appear in currently popular style manuals, and if such a rule still exists in anyone's mind, it is mainly ignored. People is the plural form that most people are most comfortable with most of the time. Persons seems excessively formal and stilted in ordinary conversation or casual writing. One would probably not say, “How many persons came to your birthday party?” In legal or formal contexts, however, persons is often the form of choice (The police are looking for any person or persons who may have witnessed the crime; Occupancy by more than 75 persons is prohibited by the fire marshal). In addition, persons is often used when we pluralize person in a set phrase (missing persons; persons of interest). Otherwise, the modern consensus is that people is the preferred plural. Persons is not wrong, but it is increasingly rare. See also people.
Examples from the web for people
  • The concept of companies as people became ever more vital as capitalism developed.
  • Instead, they were interested in the types of superstitions that people think bring them good luck.
  • He wakes up in heaven, where a succession of five people are waiting to show him the true meaning and value of his life.
  • The poorest people are not only poor.
  • The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.
  • Scores of people were reported injured.
  • Few people marry their first crush.
  • I'm not concerned with observing where people stand on the issues.
  • Some people just don't like dogs.
  • No need to be awed by other people's accomplishments.
British Dictionary definitions for people

people

/ˈpiːpəl/
noun (usually functioning as pl)
1.
persons collectively or in general
2.
a group of persons considered together: blind people
3.
(pl) peoples. the persons living in a country and sharing the same nationality: the French people
4.
one's family: he took her home to meet his people
5.
persons loyal to someone powerful: the king's people accompanied him in exile
6.
the people
  1. the mass of persons without special distinction, privileges, etc
  2. the body of persons in a country, esp those entitled to vote
verb
7.
(transitive) to provide with or as if with people or inhabitants
person
Word Origin
C13: from Old French pople, from Latin populus; see populace

person

/ˈpɜːsən/
noun (pl) persons
1.
an individual human being
2.
the body of a human being, sometimes including his or her clothing: guns hidden on his person
3.
a grammatical category into which pronouns and forms of verbs are subdivided depending on whether they refer to the speaker, the person addressed, or some other individual, thing, etc
4.
a human being or a corporation recognized in law as having certain rights and obligations
5.
(philosophy) a being characterized by consciousness, rationality, and a moral sense, and traditionally thought of as consisting of both a body and a mind or soul
6.
(archaic) a character or role; guise
7.
in person
  1. actually present: the author will be there in person
  2. without the help or intervention of others
Usage note
People is the word usually used to refer to more than one individual: there were a hundred people at the reception. Persons is rarely used, except in official English: several persons were interviewed
Word Origin
C13: from Old French persone, from Latin persōna mask, perhaps from Etruscan phersu mask

Person

/ˈpɜːsən/
noun
1.
(Christianity) any of the three hypostases existing as distinct in the one God and constituting the Trinity. They are the First Person, the Father, the Second Person, the Son, and the Third Person, the Holy Ghost
Word Origin and History for people
n.

late 13c., "humans, persons in general," from Anglo-French people, Old French peupel "people, population, crowd; mankind, humanity," from Latin populus "a people, nation; body of citizens; a multitude, crowd, throng," of unknown origin, possibly from Etruscan. The Latin word also is the source of Spanish pueblo, Italian popolo. In English, it displaced native folk.

Meaning "body of persons comprising a community" first recorded late 13c. in Anglo-French; meaning "common people, masses" (as distinguished from the nobility) first recorded c.1300 in Anglo-French. Meaning "one's own tribe, group, etc." is from late 14c. The word was adopted after c.1920 by Communist totalitarian states to give a spurious sense of populism to their governments. Legal phrase The People vs., in U.S. cases of prosecution under certain laws, dates from 1801. People of the Book "those whose religion entails adherence to a book of divine revelation (1834) translates Arabic Ahl al-Kitab.

v.

late 15c. (intransitive), c.1500 (transitive), from people (n.), or else from Middle French peupler, from Old French peuple. Related: Peopled; peopling.

person

n.

early 13c., from Old French persone "human being, anyone, person" (12c., Modern French personne) and directly from Latin persona "human being, person, personage; a part in a drama, assumed character," originally "mask, false face," such as those of wood or clay worn by the actors in later Roman theater. OED offers the general 19c. explanation of persona as "related to" Latin personare "to sound through" (i.e. the mask as something spoken through and perhaps amplifying the voice), "but the long o makes a difficulty ...." Klein and Barnhart say it is possibly borrowed from Etruscan phersu "mask." Klein goes on to say this is ultimately of Greek origin and compares Persephone.

Of corporate entities from mid-15c. The use of -person to replace -man in compounds and avoid alleged sexist connotations is first recorded 1971 (in chairperson). In person "by bodily presence" is from 1560s. Person-to-person first recorded 1919, originally of telephone calls.

people in Medicine

person per·son (pûr'sən)
n.

  1. A living human.

  2. The composite of characteristics that make up an individual personality; the self.

  3. The living body of a human.

  4. Physique and general appearance.

people in Culture

person definition


An inflectional form (see inflection) of pronouns and verbs that distinguishes between the person who speaks (first person), the person who is spoken to (second person), and the person who is spoken about (third person). The pronoun or verb may be singular or plural. For example:

first person singular: I walk.
second person singular: you walk.
third person singular: he/she/it walks.
first person plural: we walk.
second person plural: you walk.
third person plural: they walk.
Slang definitions & phrases for people

people

noun

A person: She's great people (1926+)

Related Terms

the beautiful people, boat people, free people, jesus freaks, night people, road people, street people


Idioms and Phrases with people

people

In addition to the idiom beginning with people also see: tell (people) apart

person

In addition to the idiom beginning with
person
also see: