Vulgus (Latin for "the common people," "the multitude," "the crowd") is a Latin noun, typically neuter in gender and belonging to the second declension, though occasionally it can be found in the masculine.
Etymology The word vulgus is of ancient Indo-European origin, stemming from a root meaning "to crowd" or "to press." It entered Latin as vulgus, retaining this core sense of a undifferentiated mass of people.
Meaning and Usage In ancient Rome, vulgus referred to the general populace, the unspecialized mass of citizens, often without specific distinction as patricians or plebeians. While it broadly meant "the people," it frequently carried a connotation of the unrefined, uneducated, or easily swayed populace, contrasting with the more esteemed populus (the people as an organized political body or the body politic) or the nobiles (the nobility).
- Literary Context: Roman authors such as Cicero, Horace, and Tacitus often used vulgus when referring to the common, undiscriminating public, particularly when discussing public opinion, popular taste, or the masses susceptible to demagoguery. For instance, the phrase vulgus profanum (the uninitiated crowd) was famously used by Horace in his Odes. The term highlighted a distinction between the educated elite and the less discerning masses.
- Historical and Academic Usage: While not a common word in everyday English, vulgus persists in academic and historical discourse, especially when discussing classical Roman society, linguistics, or Latin literature. It is crucial for understanding social stratifications and perceptions in the Roman world.
Derived and Related Terms
- Vulgar: Directly from the Latin vulgaris, meaning "pertaining to the common people." In English, its meaning evolved to denote something crude, unrefined, or indecent.
- Vulgate: Refers to the common, standard, or authoritative version of something. The most famous example is the Vulgate Bible, a Latin translation of the Bible, largely by St. Jerome, which became the standard text of the Roman Catholic Church for over a millennium, intended for common use.
- Divulge: From the Latin divulgare, meaning "to make public" or "to spread among the common people."
- Vulgar Latin: A term used by linguists to describe the non-classical, spoken Latin of the common people throughout the Roman Empire. This form of Latin diverged significantly from the literary classical Latin and eventually developed into the various Romance languages (e.g., French, Spanish, Italian).
- Vulgarism: An offensive or crude word or expression, reflecting its root meaning of common or unrefined language.
See Also
- Populus
- Plebeians
- Roman society
- Classical Latin
- Romance languages