0

Can I say, "This area is populated by mangos/weeds/.../other living things"? I know that the word populated often goes with humans or animals. What about trees?

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

Populate comes from the Latin word populus, meaning people. The meaning can be stretched to include animals. I would have thought it was stretching it too far to include trees, but I did an Ngram search for 'populated by trees' and found no occurrences at all before 1900, a gradual increase since and a big spike in use in the present century.

So, yes, it seems you can say it.

Improve this answer
-1

I would suggest using the word "inhabited" instead of "populated" is this sentence.

You should also consider avoiding use of the passive voice to improve the sentence.

So, "Mangos/weeds/.../other living things inhabit this area."

Or, if your list is really just about plans and fungi, then

"Mangos/weeds/.../other living things grow in this area."

or, if they really seem to like it there...

"Mangos/weeds/.../other living things thrive in this area."

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    I don't think inhabited is any better (for trees). Do you have a reference to show it is more common or considered more correct?
    – Stuart F
    Commented Dec 14, 2023 at 12:13
  • Inhabited is better than populated according to the unanimous consensus of the two native English speakers in my living room :).
    – phil1008
    Commented Dec 15, 2023 at 3:01

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .