# plebe
## English
### Etymology

From Latin plēbs (“the plebeian class”), probably via Middle French plebe (“plebeians, commoners, the rabble”) and possibly later understood as a clipping of plebeian. Cognate with Italian plebe, Spanish plebe, Portuguese plebe.

### Pronunciation

* (General American) IPA: /plib/
* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /pliːb/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːb

### Noun

plebe (plural plebes)
* (historical, usually in the plural) A plebeian, a member of the lower class of Roman citizens.
** 1562–1565 (date written), Thomas Smyth [i.e., Thomas Smith], “The Diuision of the Parts and Persons of the Common Wealth”, in De Republica Anglorum. The Maner of Gouernement or Policie of the Realme of England, […], London: […] Henrie Midleton for Gregorie Seton, published 1583, →OCLC, pages 19–20:Another the like was among the Romanes of Patricij & plebes, thone ſtriuing with thother a long time, the patricij many yeares excluding the plebes from bearing rule, vntill at laſt all magiſtrates were made cõmon [common] betweene thẽ [them]: […]
* (historical, obsolete) The plebs, the plebeian class.
** 1612, Thomas Heywood, chapter II, in An Apology for Actors:All other roomes were free for the plebe or multitude.
* (obsolete) The similar lower class of any area.
* (US, military, slang) A freshman cadet at a military academy.
** 1834 October, Military & Naval Magazine, page 85:My drill master, a young stripling, told me I was not so ‘gross’ as most other pleibs, the name of all new cadets.
** 1910, H. Irving Hancock, Dick Prescott's Second Year at West Point, page 84:"But is a plebe forbidden to stroll here?" "If a plebe did have the brass to try it," replied Anstey slowly, "I reckon he would have to fight the whole yearling class in turn."
** 2014, David Lipsky, Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point, page 8:Plebes spend their first summer at Cadet Basic Training — Beast Barracks — where they get soldierized.
** 2018 October 26, Joe Crochet, My Winning Seasons: Discovering the Champion Within, page 3:“You went to The Citadel?” her mother chimed in. “I’ve heard so many great things about that institution. Did you go through a plebe year?” I told her I did and that we called it the knob year because freshman cadets had to shave their heads bald to resemble the butt end of a door knob and keep it that way for an entire ten months while going through the process of being broken down, only to be built back up.

#### Derived terms

* pleb, plebe class, plebe year, plebeskin

#### Related terms

* pleb, plebs, plebeian

#### Translations
### References

* “plebe, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2006.

### Anagrams

* bleep

## Italian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin plēbem. Compare the inherited doublet pieve.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈplɛ.be/
* Rhymes: -ɛbe
* Hyphenation: plè‧be

### Noun

plebe f (plural plebi)
* (historical, Ancient Rome) plebs (plebeian class)
    Antonym: patriziato
* (literary) plebs, commoners, common people (as opposed to nobility)
    Synonym: popolo
    Antonyms: aristocrazia, nobiltà
* (derogatory, dated) mob, rabble, riffraff
    Synonyms: massa, popolino, volgo
* (figurative, poetic) multitude, mass (of people)
    Synonym: moltitudine
* (figurative, poetic, rare) multitude, mass (of plants)
    Synonym: moltitudine

#### Derived terms

* plebaglia

#### Related terms

* plebeo
* plebiscito

### Further reading

* plebe in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

## Latin
### Noun

plēbe f
* ablative singular of plēbs

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin plēbem.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈplɛ.bi/
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈplɛ.bi/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈplɛ.be/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈplɛ.bɨ/ [ˈplɛ.βɨ]
* Hyphenation: ple‧be

### Noun

plebe f (plural plebes)
* plebs (the common people)

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French plèbe, Latin plebs, plebem.

### Noun

plebe f (uncountable)
* plebs, the common people, commonality, commoners, the lower orders

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin plēbem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈplebe/ [ˈple.β̞e]
* Rhymes: -ebe
* Syllabification: ple‧be

### Noun

plebe f (plural plebes)
* plebeians, common people
    Synonym: chusma
* (historical) plebs

#### Derived terms

* tribuno de la plebe

#### Related terms

* plebeyo

### Noun

plebe m or f by sense (plural plebes)
* (colloquial, Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico) kid, child
* (New Mexico) kids, children, mass noun, compare with gente usage
    ¿Dónde está la plebe?Where are the kids?

### Further reading

* “plebe”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10