people is plural for person... Person: function: noun 1 :sometimes used in combination especially by those who prefer to avoid man in compounds applicable to both sexes. 2 : a character or part in or as if in a play 3 a : one of the three modes of being in the Trinitarian Godhead as understood by Christians b : the unitary personality of Christ that unites the divine and human natures 4 a : archaic : bodily appearance b : the body of a human being; also : the body and clothing 5 : the personality of a human being : SELF 6 : one (as a human being, a partnership, or a corporation) that is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties 7 : reference of a segment of discourse to the speaker, to one spoken to, or to one spoken of as indicated by means of certain pronouns or in many languages by verb inflection - per·son·hood /-"hud/ noun - in person : in one's bodily presence