The word **老百姓 (lǎo bǎi xìng)**, meaning "common people" or "the masses," is formed through a historical and semantic compounding process: the core component is **百姓 (bǎi xìng)**, which literally translates to "hundred surnames," an ancient metaphor for the general populace (as numerous families with different surnames). The prefix **老 (lǎo)**, which often denotes respect or familiarity (like in "老师" for teacher), is added to create a more colloquial, endearing, and collective term, thus transforming the formal "hundred surnames" into the everyday word for "ordinary folk."