'People' displaced native 'folk' after the Norman Conquest — from Latin 'populus,' possibly Etruscan.
Human beings in general or considered collectively; also, the citizens of a country or members of a particular community.
From Anglo-Norman "people," from Old French "pueple/peuple" (people, populace), from Latin "populus" (a people, nation, body of citizens), of uncertain ultimate origin — possibly from Etruscan or another pre-Indo-European Italic language. One hypothesis connects it to PIE *pleh₁- (to fill), suggesting "a multitude, a filled gathering," but this remains debated. Latin "populus" originally designated the Roman citizenry as a political body, distinct from "vulgus" (the common crowd) and