Having to do with the study of human populations, especially their size, growth, density, and patterns of living.

Demographic analysis, the statistical description of human populations, is a tool used by government agencies, political parties, and manufacturers of consumer goods. Polls conducted on every topic imaginable, from age to toothpaste preference, give the government and corporations an idea of who the public is and what it needs and wants. The government's census, which is conducted every ten years, is the largest demographic survey of all. Today *demographic* is also being used as a noun; so, for example, TV advertisers are constantly worrying about how to appeal to “the 18-to-24-year-old demographic.”

(1) Found only in a given place or region. (2) Often found in a given occupation, area, or environment.

With its *en-* prefix, *endemic* means literally “in the population.” Since the panda is found in the wild exclusively in central China and eastern Tibet, scientists say it's “endemic to” those areas. But the word can also mean simply “common” or “typical”; so we can say that corruption is endemic in the government of a country, that colds are “endemic in” nursery school, or that love of Barbie dolls is “endemic among” young American girls. Don't confuse *endemic* with *epidemic*; something can be endemic in a region for centuries without ever “exploding.”

*Demagogue* was once defined by the writer H. L. Mencken as “one who will preach doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots,” and Mencken's definition still works quite well. The “doctrines” (ideas) preached by demagogues will naturally always be the kind that appeal directly to the ordinary voter, the “common man” or “little guy.” Appealing to the common people is not itself a bad thing, but it has often been used by those who calculate that *demagoguery* (or *demagogy*) is the easiest way to power. In most countries, fear of *demagogic* leaders is so strong that voters aren't even permitted to vote directly for the nation's leader, but instead vote only for a local representative.

Popular or common.

For many years *demotic* was used only to describe the writing of ancient Egypt, as the name of the script used by ordinary Egyptians rather than by their priests. *Demotic* is still an intellectual word, but it can now be used to describe any popular style in contrast to a style associated with a higher class, especially a style of speech or writing. So, for example, demotic Californian is different from demotic Texan. The most demotic dress today is probably blue jeans and sneakers, and those who wear them have demotic taste in fashion. The problem is, in American society it can sometimes be hard to find a style that *can 't* be described as demotic.

A believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people.

The word *populist* first appeared in the 1890s with the founding of the Populist Party, which stood for the interests of the farmers against the big- money interests. In later years *populism* came to be associated with the blue- collar class in the cities as well. Populism can be hard to predict. It sometimes has a religious tendency; it usually isn't very interested in international affairs; it has sometimes been unfriendly to immigrants and blacks; and it's often anti-intellectual. So populism often switches between liberal and conservative. But the *populist* style always shows its concern with Americans with average incomes as opposed to the rich and powerful.

(1) The common people or masses. (2) Population.

*Populace* is usually used to refer to all the people of a country. Thus, we're often told that an educated and informed populace is essential for a healthy American democracy. Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous radio “Fireside Chats” informed and reassured the American populace in the 1930s as we struggled through the Great Depression. We often hear about what “the general populace” is thinking or doing, but generalizing about something so huge can be tricky.

Numerous, densely settled, or having a large population.

With a metropolitan area of more than 20 million people, Mexico City could be called the world's second or third most populous city. And the nearby Aztec city of Tenochtitlán was one of the largest cities in the world even when Hernán Cortés arrived there in 1519. But by the time Cortés conquered the city in 1521 it wasn't nearly so populous, since European diseases had greatly reduced the population. Avoid confusing *populous* and *populace,* which are pronounced exactly the same.

Popular sentiment or opinion.

Dating from at least the time of Charlemagne, the Latin saying “Vox populi, vox Dei” means literally “The voice of the people is the voice of God”—in other words, the people's voice is sacred, or the people are always right. Today, by means of modern opinion polls, we seem to hear the vox populi (or *vox pop* for short) year-round on every possible issue. But maybe we should occasionally keep in mind that full Charlemagne-era quotation: “Those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.”