Population
/ˌpɒp.jʊˈleɪ.ʃən/noun
The total number of people living in a place, country, or area.
Did you know?Population comes through Latin from a verb meaning “to fill” or “make full,” so its oldest history is about filling a space, not counting souls.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pl̥h₁-
“to fill”
Latin
Latin
plēre
“to fill”
Latin
Latin
populus
“the people, a community or nation”
Late Latin
Latin
populātiō
“a populating, a filling up; also a devastation/laying waste in some contexts”
Middle French
Old French
population
“population, act of populating”
Modern English
English
population
“the total number of inhabitants in a place”