Is there a distinct differentiation between the words natio, populus, vulgus, cultus, and societas in classical Latin? I'm encountering conflicting definitions in various dictionaries.
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2I can see why one would be interested in the difference between natio, populus and vulgus, but what do cultus and societas have to do with these three?– Sebastian KoppehelApr 8 at 0:14
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1 Answer
- natio is racial, familial, group, class, kind, vaguely of other peoples, specially when racially or culturally close
- populus is people (political, public) or folk
- vulgus is throng, crowd
- cultus is religion, sect, culture
- societas is society, partnership, fellowship; it took a political/public sense
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2Can you add details and cite a source? A quick look at Lewis and Short suggests that there is more to it than what you write.– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Apr 19 at 6:27
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1"Racial" is a charged and misleading term to use in the context of classical antiquity without a good bit of extra explanation, even if certain dictionaries have been pretty cavalier about it. Apr 19 at 11:20