| peyor. |
populace (Populace is increasingly used as a mere synonym for population, but its other connotations linger: "Population" is neutral, while "populace" often carries a superior tone toward the group it refers to.— The Grammarist •: From the beginning, population referred to the collective inhabitants of a place, whereas populace had the meaning “ordinary people” as opposed to the titled, wealthy, or privileged classes. In Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Little Princess (1905), the protagonist has been taught by her middleclass father to be kind to “the populace.” Thrust suddenly from a comfortable life into poverty, Sara learns what it is to be hungry. On the way to buy some buns, she notices a ragged little girl with “hungry eyes”: Sara knew they were hungry eyes the moment she saw them, and she felt a sudden sympathy. “This,” she said to herself, with a little sigh, “is one of the populace—and she is hungrier than I am.” Not only did the word populace refer to the less privileged part of the population, it was also used as a pejorative term for “the mob, the rabble, the unthinking masses.”  dailywritingtips.com ART Vancouver) |
