I. Meaning of the term
The Latin term denoted politicians of the late Roman Republic who declared themselves to act with the assistance, and in the interests of, the people ( populus ); however, terminological and not infrequently factual blurring arose from the fact that the root adjective popularis at first meant 'belonging to the people', 'concerning the people', then concurrently 'popular' and 'in the intere…