popular
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɒpjʊlə/
ipa: /ˈpɑpjəlɚ/
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈpɒp(j)ula(ɾ)/
rhymes: -ɒpjələ(ɹ)
Forms: form: more popular
form: most popular
Etymology: From Middle English populer, from Old French populaire and Latin populāris, from populus (“people”) + -āris (“-ar”).
Senses: examples: text: Contrary to popular misconception, MacArthur Park is not the worst song ever written.
ref: 2007 August 23, Joe Queenan, The Guardian:
text: Recent evidence demonstrates that caffeine addiction is becoming popular worldwide.
ref: 2020 February 17, Fawaz Alasmari, “Caffeine induces neurobehavioral effects through modulating neurotransmitters”, in Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, volume 28, number 4, →DOI, pages 445–451:
glosses: Common among the general public; generally accepted.
topics: law
glosses: Concerning the people; public.
examples: text: At the coming of Calvin thither, the form of their civil regiment was popular, as it continueth at this day: neither king, nor duke, nor nobleman of any authority or power over them, but officers chosen by the people out of themselves, to order all things with public consent.
ref: 1594, Richard Hooker, Preface:
text: Luther in popular memory had become a saint, his picture capable of saving houses from burning down, if it was fixed to the parlour wall.
ref: 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 645:
text: Jonathan Freedland brilliantly articulates the size and nature of the challenge and we must take his lead in setting out a radical agenda for a new republic based on the principle of popular sovereignty.
ref: 2009, Graham Smith, The Guardian, letter, 27 May 2009:
glosses: Pertaining to or deriving from the people or general public.
examples: text: Popular and shallow-headed mindes, cannot perceive the grace or comelinesse, nor judge of a smooth and quaint discourse.
ref: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
glosses: Of low birth, not noble; vulgar, plebian.
examples: text: As a work of popular science it is exemplary: the focus may be the numbers, but most of the mathematical legwork is confined to the appendices and the accompanying commentary is amusing and witty, as well as informed.
ref: 2009 April 8, “Meltdown”, in The Economist:
glosses: Aimed at ordinary people, as opposed to specialists etc.; intended for general consumption.
examples: text: Such popular humanity is treason.
ref: 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato, A Tragedy:
glosses: Cultivating the favour of the common people.
examples: text: The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.
ref: 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion:
text: They might have split 24 years ago, but the Smiths remain as popular as ever, and not just among those who remember them first time around.
ref: 2011 October 2, The Observer:
text: Athletes' use of herbal supplements has skyrocketed in the past two decades. At the top of the list of popular herbs are echinacea and ginseng, whereas garlic, St. John's wort, soybean, ephedra and others are also surging in popularity or have been historically prevalent.
ref: 2013 March 24, David S. Senchina, “Athletics and Herbal Supplements”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 15 Jul 2016, page 134:
text: The Australian teens, both from Melbourne, were enjoying a backpacking trip when they became ill after a night out in Vang Vieng.
The picturesque rural town in northern Laos has long been a popular backpacking spot.
ref: 2024 November 21, Helen Regan, Isaac Yee and Eve Brennan, “Australian teens among six tourists dead as countries warn of suspected methanol poisonings in Laos”, in CNN:
glosses: Liked by many people; generally pleasing, widely admired.
glosses: Adapted to the means of the common people; cheap.
Derived terms: antipopular
contrary to popular belief
extrapopular
hyperpopular
impopular
megapopular
nonpopular
overpopular
pop
pop art
popufur
popular action
popular assembly
popular beat combo
popular culture
popular etymology
popular front
popular initiative
popularisation
popularise
popularism
popularist
popularity
popularization
popularize
popularly
popular music
popularness
popular opinion
popular psychology
popular science
popular vote
pseudopopular
semipopular
superpopular
überpopular
ultrapopular