Noun

(en noun)

A living creature.

The state or fact of existence, consciousness, or life, or something in such a state.

* Shakespeare

Claudius, thou / Wast follower of his fortunes in his being .

(philosophy) That which has actuality (materially or in concept).

(philosophy) One's basic nature, or the qualities thereof; essence or personality.

(obsolete) An abode; a cottage.

(Wright)

* Steele

It was a relief to dismiss them [Sir Roger's servants] into little beings within my manor.

Noun

; a body of human beings considered generally or collectively; a group of two or more persons.

:

*ca. 1607: XXII people was in this parrish drownd. (Plaque recording the )

*

*, chapter=12

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people . From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs,

*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)

, chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people' do send to other ' people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
  Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838, page=11, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Towards the end of poverty , passage=But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.}}

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}

(plural peoples ) Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc; folk; community.

A group of persons regarded as being employees, followers, companions or subjects of a ruler.

*1611, (Old Testament), , 2 (w) 8:15:

*:And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people .[http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Kjv2Sam.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=8&division=div1]

*1952, (Old Testament), (Revised Standard Version) , Thomas Nelson & Sons, (w) 1:3:

*:The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand.

One's colleagues or employees.

*2001 , Vince Flynn, Transfer of Power , p.250:

*:Kennedy looked down at Flood's desk and thought about the possibilities. "Can you locate him?" "I already have my people checking on all [it]."

*2008 , Fern Michaels, Hokus Pokus? , p.184:

*:Can I have one of my people' get back to your ' people , Mr. President?" She tried to slam the phone back into the base and failed.

A person's ancestors, relatives or family.

:

The mass of a community as distinguished from a special class (elite); the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; the citizens.

:

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)

, volume=189, issue=2, page=27, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about