1610s, "whole number of inhabitants in a country, state, county, town, etc," from Late Latin populationem (nominative populatio) "a people; a multitude," as if from Latin populus "a people" (see people (n.)). From 1776 as "act or process of peopling" (a country, etc.). Population explosion "rapid or sudden increase in the size of a population" is attested by 1953.
the population seemed to be well fed and clothed
they hired hunters to keep down the deer population
it is an estimate of the mean of the population
the African-American population of Salt Lake City has been increasing
people come and go, but the population of this town has remained approximately constant for the past decade
he deplored the population of colonies with convicted criminals
popularity
popularization
popularize
popularness
populate
population
populism
populist
populous
pop-up
porcelain
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