Quick Definition
λαός, οῦ, ὁ n.m. a people, the crowd
Strong's Definition
apparently a primary word; a people (in general; thus differing from 1218, which denotes one's own populace)
KJV Usage: people
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, m. | -οῦ | λειτουργέω · λειτουργία · λειτουργικός · λειτουργός
11.55 · Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes · Socio-Political
nation, people the largest unit into which the people of the world are divided on the basis of their constituting a socio-political community In a number of languages a term meaning basically ‘tribe’ has been extended in meaning to identify ‘nations.’ In other instances different nations are spoken of simply as ‘different peoples.’ In certain cases distinct nations are classified primarily in terms of their diverse languages, for example, ‘those people who speak different languages.’ Such an expression should not, however, be used if it only refers to multilingual persons.
MAT 4:16 · MAT 13:15 · MAT 26:5 · LUK 2:31 · JHN 11:50 · JHN 18:14 · ACT 4:8 · ACT 10:42 · ACT 12:4 · ACT 12:11 · ACT 13:17 · ACT 13:17 · ACT 21:28 · ROM 10:21 · ROM 15:11 · 1CO 14:21 · 1PE 2:9 · 1PE 2:10 · REV 5:9 · REV 7:9 · REV 10:11 · REV 11:9 · REV 13:7 · REV 14:6 · REV 17:15
11.12 · Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes · Socio-Religious
people of God a collective for people who belong to God (whether Jews or Christians) The phrase ‘people of God’ may be rendered in some languages as ‘the people who belong to God’ or ‘the people whom God possesses,’ but in a number of languages the relationship between the people and God must be expressed in terms of reverence or worship, for example, ‘the people who worship God’ or ‘the people who reverence God.’ See also 11.27.
MAT 1:21 · MAT 2:4 · MAT 2:6 · MAT 15:8 · MAT 21:23 · MAT 26:3 · MAT 26:47 · MAT 27:1 · MRK 7:6 · LUK 1:17 · LUK 1:68 · LUK 1:77 · LUK 2:10 · LUK 2:32 · LUK 7:16 · LUK 19:47 · LUK 21:23 · LUK 22:66 · ACT 3:23 · ACT 4:10 · ACT 4:25 · ACT 4:27 · ACT 7:17 · ACT 7:34 · ACT 10:41 · ACT 13:15 · ACT 13:17 · ACT 13:17 · ACT 13:24 · ACT 13:31 · ACT 15:14 · ACT 18:10 · ACT 23:5 · ACT 26:17 · ACT 26:23 · ACT 28:17 · ACT 28:26 · ACT 28:27 · ROM 9:25 · ROM 9:25 · ROM 9:26 · ROM 11:1 · ROM 11:2 · ROM 15:10 · 2CO 6:16 · TIT 2:14 · HEB 2:17 · HEB 4:9 · HEB 5:3 · HEB 7:5 · HEB 7:11 · HEB 7:27 · HEB 8:10 · HEB 9:7 · HEB 9:19 · HEB 9:19 · HEB 10:30 · HEB 11:25 · HEB 13:12 · 1PE 2:10 · 2PE 2:1 · JUD 1:5 · REV 18:4 · REV 21:3
11.1 · Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes · General
crowd, multitude a casual non-membership group of people, fairly large in size and assembled for whatever purpose In a number of languages there is no term corresponding to ‘crowd.’ One may, however, usually speak of such a group of people as ‘many people’ or ‘many men and women.’ Depending on the context, it may be necessary to indicate some relative difference in size, for example, ‘very large crowd’ or ‘many, many people.’ If the crowd is relatively small, one may sometimes speak of ‘just some people.’
MAT 4:23 · MAT 27:25 · MAT 27:64 · LUK 1:10 · LUK 1:21 · LUK 3:15 · LUK 3:18 · LUK 3:21 · LUK 6:17 · LUK 7:1 · LUK 8:47 · LUK 9:13 · LUK 18:43 · LUK 19:48 · LUK 20:1 · LUK 20:45 · LUK 21:38 · LUK 23:27 · LUK 23:35 · LUK 24:19 · JHN 8:2 · ACT 3:9 · ACT 3:11 · ACT 3:12 · ACT 4:1 · ACT 4:2 · ACT 4:17 · ACT 4:21 · ACT 5:12 · ACT 5:13 · ACT 5:20 · ACT 5:25 · ACT 5:26 · ACT 5:34 · ACT 5:37 · ACT 6:8 · ACT 19:4 · ACT 21:30 · ACT 21:36 · ACT 21:39 · ACT 21:40 · 1CO 10:7
87.64 · Status · Low Status or Rank [including persons of low status]
common people, rabble the common people, in contrast with those who are rich, leaders, and/or authorities in the society, often with the implication of disdain and low esteem In a number of languages the equivalent of ‘the common people’ is ‘the poor people,’ but in some languages an equivalent depends upon geographical location, for example, ‘those who live on the edge of town’ (the opposite situation from what exists in most present-day metropolitan centers). In still other languages ‘the common people’ may be designated in terms of lack of status, for example, ‘those who have no position’ or ‘those whom the rich do not greet’ or ‘those before whom no one ever bows.’
MAT 26:5 · MRK 14:2 · LUK 7:29 · LUK 19:48 · LUK 20:6 · LUK 20:9 · LUK 20:19 · LUK 20:26 · LUK 22:2 · LUK 23:5 · LUK 23:13 · LUK 23:14 · ACT 2:47 · ACT 6:12 · ACT 10:2
1 In this set of terms referring to a crowd or a multitude, it is possible that πλῆθος[b] denotes a somewhat larger group of persons than the other terms and that λαός[c] suggests a crowd made up of common people, but one cannot be certain of these distinctions from existing contexts.
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
λαός, -ov, ὁ, [(cf. Curtius § 535)]; Sept. more than fifteen hundred times for Dy; rarely for ‘42 and px); [fr. Hom. down]; people; 1. a people, tribe, nation, all those who are of the same stock and language: univ. of any people; joined with γλῶσσα, φυλή, ἔθνος, Rev. v. 9; vii. 9; x.11; xi. 9; xiii. 7 [Ree. om.]; xiv. 6; xvii. 15, (see γλῶσσα, 2); πάντες of λαοί, Lk. ii. 31; Ro. xv. 11; esp. of the people of Israel: Mt. iv. 23; xiii. 15; Mk. vii. 6; Lk. ii. 10; Jn. xi. 50 (where it alternates with ἔθνος) ; xviii. 14; Acts iii. 23; Heb. ii. 17; vii. 11, ete.; with Ἰσραήλ added, Acts iv. 10; distinguished fr. τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, Acts xxvi. 17, 23; Ro. xv. 10; the plur. λαοὶ Ἰσραήλ [R. V. the peoples of Is.] seems to be used of the tribes of the people (like oD), Gen. xlix. 10; Deut. xxxii. 8; Is. iii. 13, ete.) in Acts iv. 27 (where the plur. was apparently occasioned by Ps. ii. 1 in its reference to Christ, ef. 25); of πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ, Mt. xxi. 23; xxvi. 3, 47; xxvii. 1; of γραμματεῖς τοῦ λαοῦ, Mt. ii. 4; of πρῶτοι τοῦ λαοῦ, Lk. xix. 47; τὸ πρεσβυτέριον τοῦ λαοῦ, Lk. xxii. with a gen. of the possessor, τοῦ θεοῦ, αὐτυῦ, pov (i. 6. Tod θεοῦ, Hebr. ΤΠ oy, Ὁ ΝΤΙ Dy), the people whom God has chosen for himself, selected as peculiarly his own: Heb. xi. 25; Mt. ii. 6; Lk.i.68; vii.16; without the art. Jude 5 (Sir. xlvi. 7; Sap. xviii. 13); ef. W.§ 19,1; the name is transferred to the community of Christians, as that which “by the blessing of Christ has come to take the place of the theocratic people of Israel, Heb. iv. 9; Rev. xviii. 4; particularly to a church of Christians gathered from among the Gentiles, Acts xv. 14; Ro. ix. 25 sq.; 1 Pet. ii. 10; with eis περιποίησιν added, 1 Pet. ii. 9; περιούσιος, Tit. ii. 14, ef. Acts xviii. 10; Lk.i.17. ὁ λαός the people (of Israel) is distinguished from its princes and rulers [(1 ἔβαν. i. 10; v.45; Judith viii. 9,11; ete.)], Mt. xxvi. 5; Mk. xi. 32 [here WH Tr mrg. read ὄχλος] ; xiv. 2; Lk. xx. 19; xxii. 2; xxili.5; Acts v. 26, etc.; from the priests, Heb. v. 3; vii. 5, 27. 2. indefinitely, of a great part of the population gathered together anywhere: Mt. xxvii. 25; Lk. i. 21; iii. 15; vii. 1,293 viii. 47; ix.13; xviii. 43, ete.; τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ λαοῦ, Lk. i. 10. [The Gospels of Mk. and Jn. use the word but three times each. Syn. see δῆμος, fin. ] λάρυγξ, -γγος, 6, the throat (Etym. Magn. [557, 16]: λάρυγξ μὲν SC οὗ λαλοῦμεν . .. φάρυγξ δὲ δι’ οὗ ἐσθίομεν x. πίνομεν) : of the instrument or organ of speech (as Ps. v.10; Prov. viii. 7; Sir. vi. 5 (4)), Ro. iii. 13, where 66; ἄρχοντες τοῦ λαοῦ, Acts iv. 8. the meaning is, their speech threatens and ἱπιρσθοϑῖθ: destruction to others. (Arstph., Eur., Aristot., Galen. al.; Sept. several times for 172; oftener for 7m, the palate.)
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
λαός laos 142x
a body of people; a concourse of people, a multitude, Mt. 27:25; Lk. 8:47; the common people, Mt. 26:5; a people, nation, Mt. 2:4; Lk. 2:32; Tit. 2:14; ὁ λαός, the people of Israel, Lk. 2:10
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
λαός, -οῦ, ὁ,
[in LXX very freq. for עַם, Ge 14:16, al.; occasionally for לְאֹם ( Ge 25:23, al.), etc.;]
a word rarely found in Att. prose; the people at large (Hom., al.), esp. of people assembled: Mt 27:25, Lk 1:21 3:15 al.; pl. (Hom., al., π.; v. MM, xvi), Ac 4:27.
a people, those of the same race and language (Pind., Æsch., al.: in LXX, Ge 26:11, Ex 9:16, al.): joined with γλῶσσα, φυλή, ἔθνος, Re 5:9 7:9 11:9, al.; pl., Lk 2:31, Ro 15:11; esp. as almost always in LXX, of Israel, Mt 4:23, Mk 7:6, Lk 2:10, Jo 11:50, He 2:17, al.; opp. to τ. ἔθνη, Ac 26:17, 23, Ro 15:10; οἱ πρεσβύτεροι (πρῶτοι, etc.) τοῦ λ., Mt 21:23, Lk 19:17, Ac 4:8, al.; ὁ λ. μου (αὐτοῦ, τ. θεοῦ), Mt 2:6, Lk 1:68, He 11:25, al.; of the people disting. from the rulers and priests ( I Es 1:10, Jth 8:9, al.), Mt 26:5, Lk 20:19, He 5:3, al.; of Christians, as the people of God, Ac 15:14, Ro 9:25, 26, He 4:9; περιούσιος, Tit 2:14; εἰς περιποίησιν, I Pe 2:9(LXX).
SYN.: v.s. δῆμος.
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
λαός. In the papyri λαοί is the regular term for ‘‘ natives,” “‘fellaheen.” Thus in P Petr II. 4(11)* (B.c. 255-4) we hear of a salt-tax imposed τοῖς ἐκ Κερκεήσιος λαοῖς, where the editor remarks, ‘‘an ancient and poetical form for Jeople found both in the LXX and in Papyri’’: cf. P Lille I. 168 (iii/B.C.) ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἀπεργάζονται οἱ λαοὶ Td κέρμα τοῦτο εἰς ἄριστον, ‘since the natives are working off (?) this small tax as well as they can,” P Par 631% (B.c. 164) (=P Petr III. p. 26) τοὺς πλείστους δὲ τῶν ἐν ταῖς κώμαις κατοικούντῶν λαῶν οἵ διὰ τὴν τῶν δεόντων σπάνιν ἐργατεύοντες πορίἵονται τὰ πρὸς τὸ ζῆν, ‘also most of the people inhabiting the villages, who, through lack of necessaries, supply themselves with the means of life by hard labour’? (Mahaffy), z}. 15. τῶν μὲν ταλαιπώρων λαῶν καὶ τῶν μαχίμων Kal τῶν ἄλλων ἀδυνατούντων φείσεσθε, ‘you must spare the miserable populace and the μάχιμοι and the others who are incapable” (¢@.), and 2. 1°° προτρεψαμένου τοὺς στρατηγοὺς Kal τοὺς λαοὺς ἐ[πι]δέξασθαι τὰ τῆς ἀσχολίας, “‘instigated the strategi and the people to undertake the labour (of seedsowing) ’’ (¢@.). For a similar use in the inscrr. cf. OG/S go™ (Rosetta stone—B.C. 196) ὅπως ὅ Te λαὸς Kal οἱ ἄλλοι
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
λαός (laos) — a people. λᾱός, ὁ, Ionic dialect ληός [Refs 6th c.BC+] (variant{λαόν}, which is in all Mss. in [Refs 6th c.BC+]; Attic dialect λεώς, which is also used in [Refs 5th c.BC+] and in late Prose, as Foed.Byzantine cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]
1. in [Refs 8th c.BC+] (λαοί) usually means men, i.e. soldiers, both of the whole army and smaller divisions, κριτὸς ἔγρετο λ. Ἀχαιῶν [Refs]; periphrastic, στρατὸς λαῶν[Refs]; mostly including both foot and horse, as [Refs]; but sometimes λαός denotes foot, as opposed to horse, [Refs]; also, a land army, opposed to a fleet, [Refs]; also, the common men, opposed to their leaders, [Refs]; but
2. in [Refs 8th c.BC+], almost always means men or people; as subjects of a prince, e.g. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; λαοὶ ἀγροιῶται country-folk, [Refs]; work-people, [Refs]; of sailors, [Refs 8th c.BC+] seafaring folk, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: in singular, slave, τὸν Εὐρυσθέως λεών, of Heracles, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; and so perhaps λεὼς αὔτοικος [Refs], i.e. mankind, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; λ. ἐγχώριοι the natives,[Refs 8th c.BC+]; especially in Egypt, of the fellahin, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; civil population, opposed to priests and soldiers, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]
3. people assembled, as in the theatre, ὁ πολὺς λαῶν ὄχλος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially in the Ecclesia, αἱ στίχες τῶν λαῶν [Refs] hear O people!—the usual way of beginning proclamations at Athens, like our [Refs 6th c.BC+]; τιμῶσιν οἱ πάντες λεῴ[Refs 4th c.BC+]; ὁ πολὺς λεώς the multitude, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
4. in LXX, of the people, as opposed to priests and Levites, [NT]; of [NT]
II. a people, i.e. all who are called by one name, first in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἱππόται λαοί, i.e. the Thessalians, [Refs 5th c.BC+] people and λᾶος stone (compare λᾶας) is implied in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; and so [Refs 5th c.BC+] explains the word from the legend of Deucalion, [Refs 5th c.BC+] (From λᾱϝ-, as shown by the proper noun Λαϝοπτόλεμος [Refs]