Definition of "plebs" [plebs]

• The common people of ancient Rome: the plebs and the patricians. (noun)
• The common people; the populace. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "[263] The distinction between the Roman people and the tribes, is also observed by Tacitus, who substitutes the word plebs, meaning, the lowest class of the populace."
• "The opinions of those plebs is deeply suspect, such that their hype must be validated by those in the upper tier, those who know How Writing Is Done."
• "Padda, Burghelm, and Oiddi (it is pleasant to preserve these little personal touches) -- proceeded to baptize the 'plebs' -- that is to say, the servile Anglicised Celt-Euskarian substratum -- up and down the country villages."