Plebs
/plɛbz/noun
The common people, especially in ancient Rome; by extension, ordinary or lower social classes.
Did you know?In Latin, plebs was a real political category in Rome, and its opposite, patricians, helped shape centuries of social struggle over who got to count as ‘the people.’
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleh₁-
“to fill, make full”
Proto-Italic
Italic
*pleh₁-bʰ-os
“the full body of people; the mass”
Latin
Latin
plebs
“the common people, the populace”
Late Latin
Latin
plebeius
“belonging to the common people”
Middle English
English
plebe
“a commoner; a member of the lower social class”
Modern English
English
plebs
“the common people; the general populace, often used dismissively”