The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Populate \Pop"u*late\, a. [L. populus people. See People.]
   Populous. [Obs.] --Bacon.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Populate \Pop"u*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Populated; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Populating.]
   To furnish with inhabitants, either by natural increase or by
   immigration or colonization; to cause to be inhabited; to
   people.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Populate \Pop"u*late\, v. i.
   To propagate. [Obs.]
   [1913 Webster]

         Great shoals of people which go on to populate.
                                                  --Bacon.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

populate
    v 1: inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of; "People lived in
         Africa millions of years ago"; "The people inhabited the
         islands that are now deserted"; "this kind of fish dwells
         near the bottom of the ocean"; "deer are populating the
         woods" [syn: populate, dwell, live, inhabit]
    2: fill with inhabitants; "populate the forest with deer and
       wild boar for hunting"