"of or characteristic of the lower class or the common people," was first used in 1560s in a Roman historical context, originates from Latin word plebeius , which means "belonging to the plebs ." Before that, it meant plebes , referring to "the populace, the common people" (as opposed to patricians, etc.). It also referred to "commonality; the mass, the multitude; the lower class" (from PIE *ple- , from the root *pele- (1) "to fill"). The word was generally used from the 1580s onwards.
