Definition: Today, the term plebeian is synonymous with lower class. In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also known simply as plebs) may have been that part of the Roman population whose origin was among the conquered Latins (as opposed to the Roman conquerors). Plebeians were contrasted with the patrician nobility. Patricians, and not plebeians in those early days of Rome, could be members of the Senate. Since the ruling body was more interested in itself than others, the plebeians suffered in this arrangement. Over time the plebeians were able to amass wealth and great power. By the time of Caesar, the patrician Claudius chose to become a plebeian (something he could do through adoption) in order to hold an important political office, the Tribune of the Plebs. [See the accompanying Plebeian Timeline for major points in the evolution from downtrodden to powerful.]
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a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | wxyzAlso Known As: Plebes, Plebs
Common Misspellings: Plebian (my personal one)
Examples: In Alessandro Barbero's The Day of the Barbarians, the fourth century historian Ammianus Marcellinus is said to have referred to the Goths as plebs truculenta 'a mob of dangerous ruffians.'
