Where does “populace” come from?
Populace derives from Middle French populace, from Italian popolaccio, from Italian popolo, from Latin populus meaning "people," with formative elements from Latin -ax, -are, -alis, and -alis.
populace (English): The common people of a nation; The inhabitants of...
Definitions
- The common people of a nation; The inhabitants of...
Ancestry of “populace”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | populace | — |
| 2 | Italian | popolaccio | Riffraff, dregs of society, scum of the earth |
| 3 | Italian | -accio | Alterative suffix used to form pejoratives |
| 4 | Latin | -aceum | nominative neuter singular of -āceus; accusative... |
| 5 | Latin | -aceus | -aceous; resembling, having the nature of,... |
| 6 | Latin | -eus | argentum + API → argenteus; ferrum + API →... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -εῖος | Forms adjectives, usually with a meaning of "of"... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHwós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -wós | Creates adjectives from verb stems |