popularadj.n.
/ˈpɒpjᵿlə/, U.S. /ˈpɑpjələr/ A. adj.† 5. Aware of or cultivating the favour of the populace. Also: supporting the cause of the common people (rather than that of the nobility, etc.). Obsolete.† 6. Populous, heavily inhabited; crowded. Obsolete.† 8. U.S. colloquial. Conceited. Obsolete. rare.† 9. U.S. colloquial. Good, nice, excellent. Obsolete. rare.
1. Of a belief, attitude, etc.: prevalent or current among the general public; generally accepted, commonly known. Also (of a disease): †epidemic (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > general or prevalent
commona1325
generala1393
usual1396
popular?a1425
riveda1513
vulgarc1550
current1563
afloat1571
widespread1582
penny-rife1606
catholic1607
spacious1610
epidemical1614
epidemial1616
epidemic1617
prevailent1623
regnant1623
fashionablea1627
wide-spreading1655
endemical1658
prevalent1658
endemiala1682
obtaining1682
prevailing1682
endemious1684
sterling1696
running1697
(as) common as dirt (also muck)1737
prevailant1794
exoteric1814
endemic1852
widish1864
prolate1882
going1909
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > types > [adjective] > epidemic
popular?a1425
epidemial1568
epidemical1595
epidemian1599
epidemic1603
exidemical1608
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 110v (MED) Declinacioun is when þe membrez falleþ, And þan þe tokenesse ar populer, i. knowen to þe comon pepul [L. popularia].
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxv. 251 When a man is whole to faine himselfe sicke to shunne the businesse in Court, to entertaine time and ease at home,..to harken after the popular opinions and speech, to entend to their more priuate solaces, [etc.]
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xxxvii. 442 I remember a popular sickenesse [Fr. maladie populaire], which some yeares since, greatly troubled the Townes about me.
1631 B. Jonson Divell is Asse i. iii. 30 in Wks. II Sir, that's a popular error, deceiues many.
1651 Bp. J. Taylor XXVIII Serm. xxvi. 329 Does not God plant remedies there where the diseases are most popular?
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Popular Errors, are such as People imbibe from one another, by Custom, Education, and Tradition.
1793 J. Lodge Introd. Sketches towards Topographical Hist., County Hereford i. 61 Truth..is often widely distant from popular opinion: and here it seems to be so in a very remarkable manner.
1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 9 422 In all popular diseases prostration of strength forbids its repetition.
1831 Spirit of Times (N.Y.) 10 Dec. 3/3 Conscious of the powerful influence exerted over popular opinion by the Park establishment.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 241 A popular aphorism of modern times.
1933 Burlington Mag. July 30/1 Proverbs and popular sayings are so much a part of the everyday life of the people.
1995 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 20 Apr. 35 (advt.) This book debunks the popular misconception of the ‘unacculturated’ Yanomami while creating a framework for understanding their remarkable history of violence.
2005 Herald Amer. (Nexis) 16 June 1 Contrary to popular belief, there is no law prohibiting a registered sexual offender from living near a school.
2. Law. Affecting, concerning, or open to the people; public. Frequently as postmodifier in action popular. Also (later) in popular action.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [adjective] > other types of action or suit
real1444
popular1490
fat1644
pre-judicial1651
quantum valebant1827
prejudical1864
adjectician1880
prejudiciary1880
landmark1937
1490 Act 4 Hen. VII c. 20 Accions populers in divers cases have ben ordeigned by many gode actes and statutes.
1579 Expos. Termes Law Accion populer, is an accion which is geeuen vppon the breach of some Penal statute, which..euery man that wyll may sue for him selfe, and the Queene, by information, or otherwise,..& because that this action is not geeuen to one man specyally but generally to the Queenes people that wyll sue, it is called an actyon populer.
1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha i. xvi. 131 I haue knowen it doubted, whether the Suertie of the good Abearing (commaunded vpon complaint) may be released by any speciall person, or no, bicause it seemeth more popular, then the Suertie of the Peace.
1704 Exact Abridgm. All Statutes 4 No release of a common person shall in this case discharge an Action Popular.
1755 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 2 Jan. in Misc. Wks. (1777) I. xxxiv. 177 An action popular, or of qui tam, would certainly lie.
1795 W. W. Hening New Virginia Justice 336 Likewise, after an action popular is brought, as well for the commonwealth as for the informer, according to any statute; the commonwealth can but discharge its own part, and cannot discharge the informer's part.
1872 Wharton's Law Lexicon (ed. 5) Popular action, brought by one of the public to recover some penalty given by statute to any one who chooses to sue for it.
1883 Bradlaugh v. Clarke in All Eng. Law Rep. (Lexis) Ext. 1582 As the law stood up to 1866, the omission to take the altered oath still rendered the party offending liable to great disabilities, and also to a penalty of £500, to be recovered in England by action popular, and in Scotland by some process.
1913 Law Rep.: King's Bench Div. 3 706 All offences against any penal statute, for which any common informer or promoter may lawfully ground any popular action, bill, plaint, suit, or information.
1974 Federal Suppl. (U.S.) (Lexis) 378 1221 The king can no way bar any action on a statute by the party grieved; nor even a popular action by a common informer, if commenced before his pardon or release.
3. † b. Of low birth; not noble; plebeian. Obsolete.† c. Vulgar, coarse, ill-bred. Obsolete.
a. Of, relating to, deriving from, or consisting of ordinary people or the people as a whole; generated by the general public; democratic.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > [adjective]
landish1489
popil1531
popular1533
secular1589
plebeial1590
plebeian1602
vulgar1605
plebal1606
multitudinousa1616
gregarian1632
gregary1640
populous1657
roturière1791
demotic1831
vulgarian1833
demic1834
commonal1865
communal1878
folkish1938
plebby1962
pleb1972
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. 175/9 This sentence was leist apprisit for it made the senate populare.
1548 W. Thomas in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) II. App. S. 66 What popular estate can be read, that hath thirty years together eschewed sects, sedition and commotions?
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 297 Timoleon..did by this meanes stablish a free state and popular gouernment.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 313 For so the popular vote Inclines, here to continue, and build up here A growing Empire. View more context for this quotation
1716 D. Ryder Diary 10 Sept. (1939) (modernized text) 320 I asked the Doctor what popular noise there was before the revolution and how the people conceived of it.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. III. liv. 170 Popular tumults were not disagreeable to them.
1833 A. Alison Hist. Europe during French Revol. I. v. 271 The Legislative Assembly affords the first example,..in modern Europe, of the effects of a completely popular election.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxix. 541 From 1824 till 1840, nominations irregularly made by State legislatures and popular meetings.
1926 Daily Chron. 13 May 2/3 Such a defeat would sooner or later end the experiment of popular government in these islands.
1993 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 8 Apr. 16/1 He alarmed even some of them by his defense of ‘popular justice’, the idea that the working class and its allies should punish their class enemies without waiting for the courts to find them guilty of anything in particular.
2001 Christian Sci. Monitor 5 Jan. 9/2 The task force came up with a way of preserving the Electoral College system while ensuring the winner of the popular vote would almost certainly win the electoral vote.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > [adjective] > common
unornOE
commona1382
vulgar1530
popular1533
plain1542
dunghill1548
ordinarya1586
plebeious1610
roturier1614
terraefilian1887
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. 226/20 The consulis..estymeis na thing les than ws that ar descendit of lynage populare.
a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 42 More..than when it is granted to any popular or common person.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 118 Him they sent being a popular man.
1640 T. Pierse in Horti Carol. Rosa altera, A drop of Royall blood is dearer farre Than a whole Ocean of the popular.
1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 87 'Tis the Measure that all Popular Spirits do go by, and the Wisest can hardly refrain it.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > low or vulgar person > [adjective]
carlisha1240
lewdc1380
carlc1450
villain1483
ruffian1528
shake-ragged1550
porterlike1568
popular1583
ungracious1584
ordinarya1586
tapsterly1589
mechanic1598
round-headed1598
base-like1600
strummell-patch1600
porterly1603
scrubbing1603
vernaculous1607
plebeian1615
reptile1653
proletarian1663
mobbish1695
low1725
terraefilial1745
low-lifed1747
Whitechapel1785
lowlife1794
boweryish1846
gutter1849
bowery1852
lowish1886
swab1914
lumpen1944
1583 Sir T. Smith's De Republica Anglorum i. iii. 3 The rule or the vsurping of the popular or rascall and viler sort.
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor i. ii. sig. Ciiiv Such as flourish in the spring of the fashion, and are least popular . View more context for this quotation
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. xiii. 658 It is a custome of populare or base men to call for minstrels or singers at feasts.
1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. B2 Had the house been freed of halfe a dozen popular and discontented persons.
4. Of cultural activities or products.
a. Intended for or suited to the understanding or taste of ordinary people, esp. as opposed to specialists in a field; spec. (of literature, etc.) intended for and directed at a general readership.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > clearness, lucidity > simplifying, popularization > [adjective] > generally intelligible
popular1573
exoterical1637
vulgar1643
exoteric1656
simplified1772
popularized1839
while-you-wait1929
pop1956
1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 11 In philosophical disputations to give popular and plausible theams.
a1627 W. Fowler tr. Petrarch Triumphs in Wks. (1914) I. 16 I wes spurred..be translatioun to mak thame sum what more populare then they ar in thair Italian originall.
1706 J. Scott Diary 25 Sept. in J. Stevenson Two Cent. Life in Down (1920) vii. 160 I delivered my popular sermon before the presbytry, and blessed be God was approven of, and then was licensed to preach.
1759 R. Jackson Hist. Rev. Pennsylvania 73 All he said was in popular Language.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria I. xii. 253 To an Esquimaux or New Zealander our most popular philosophy would be wholly unintelligible.
1835 J. S. Mill in London Rev. Oct. 273 Not only has it no leaders in Parliament, but it has none in the popular press.
1872 Longmans' List Works Aug. 8 Miscellaneous Works and Popular Metaphysics.
1901 G. K. Chesterton Defendant 16 The coarse and thin texture of mere current popular romance.
1952 H. Herd March of Journalism xvii. 326 Many popular newspapers..aim to interest everyman without indulging in sensationalism.
1999 Times Educ. Suppl. 7 May (Friday Mag. Suppl.) 10 (caption) While the pages of many popular science books remain unthumbed..this anthology promises a thrilling journey of discovery for everyone.
b. Adapted to the means of ordinary people; low or moderate in price.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > low price or rate > [adjective] > cheap
light?a1400
vile?1490
cheap1517
low-prized1600
druggish1701
popular1830
low-priced1842
underpriced1861
bargain basement1899
low-budget1918
Woolworth1931
Woolworthian1933
pipe-rack1956
budget1958
cheapo1967
pound shop1989
1830 Biblical Repertory Apr. 167 These meetings would, of course, be made to differ entirely from the popular concerts of the day; which under the pretence of sacred music, are really secular in their character and influence.
1859 Illustr. London News 2 July 11/2 The Monday Popular Concert..was the last of the series for this season.
1890 Lady's Pictorial 15 Mar. 347/3 The book is to be produced at the popular price of one shilling.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 751/2 After the foundation of the Popular Concerts in 1859..he [sc. Joachim] played there regularly in the latter part of the season.
1926 World's Work Sept. 486 (advt.) Here is..a complete index and Reader's Guide to the Mandalay Edition of the Works of Rudyard Kipling, the only definitive edition of his works available today at a popular price.
1992 Premiere Mar. 93/2 Thorne..gets residuals from the videos, three of which have been released at popular prices.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > [adjective] > attached or devoted to cause of
popular1579
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > quality of being approvable or acceptable > popularity > [adjective] > seeking popularity
popular1579
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 885 Diuers were of opinion, that he [sc. Caius Gracchus] was more popular [Fr. plus populaire], and desirous of the common peoples good will and fauor, then his brother had bene before him.
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 165 The lord Avdley..a Noble-man of an ancient Family, but vnquiet and popular,..came in to them [sc. rebels].
1701 J. Swift Disc. Contests Nobles & Commons iii. 25 The Practices of popular and ambitious Men.
1771 O. Goldsmith Hist. Eng. I. 204 The first acts of an usurper are always popular.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > population > [adjective] > populous
well-inhabited?a1425
populousc1425
well-peopleda1475
well-occupied1555
populate?1575
popular1588
well-populated1654
1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China i. vii. 13 These two prouinces, which are two of the mightiest, and most popularst [Sp. mas populosas] of people.
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper iii. 184 How doth the popular City sit solitary?
a1699 J. Kirkton Secret & True Hist. Church Scotl. (1817) 215 The most popular part of Scotland.
1727 P. Longueville Hermit 47 Oppression and Usury, and all the Evils that attend this popular World.
7.
a. Liked or admired by many people, or by a particular person or group.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > quality of being approvable or acceptable > popularity > [adjective]
plausible1541
gracious1573
popular1608
plaudablea1650
popularish1824
popularist1962
1608 G. Chapman Conspiracie Duke of Byron ii. sig. D He is a foole that keepes them with more care, Then they keepe him, safe, rich, and populare.
1710 Tatler No. 190. ⁋4 This..will make me more popular among my Dependants.
1740 W. Oldys Life Sir W. Ralegh 36 Ralegh, knowing the Lord Roch to be a powerful and popular Man among the Irish, so suddenly commanded all his Company to be in Readiness by Eleven a-Clock that Night.
1795 H. H. Brackenridge Incidents of Insurrection in Western Parts Pennsylvania iii. 22 He has been before that time the most popular man in Allegheny county.
1812 Religionism 24 The popular Preachers,—men of high renown.
1884 W. Besant Dorothy Forster I. xi. 288 Mr. Hilyard was popular among those who knew nothing of his scholarship and fine qualities, because he was never known to fall under the table while there was another man still sitting up.
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Bill the Conqueror 22 Breakfast was never a popular meal with those who had enjoyed overnight the hospitality of Judson Coker.
1971 Gourmet Feb. 58/3 About fifty years ago, when I was a child, a raisin-topped, spongelike, lemon-flavored cookie was popular.
1991 R. R. McCammon Boy's Life i. i. 8 I had a small group of friends..but I wasn't what you might call popular.
b. Designating forms of art, music, or culture with general appeal; intended primarily to entertain, please, or amuse. Cf. sense A. 4, popular culture n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [adjective]
popular1730
pop1910
pop-style1954
poppy1967
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [adjective] > types of artistic treatment or style
antica1536
Moresque1611
barbaric1667
massive1723
popular1730
maniéré1743
regency1811
tedesco1814
massy1817
Barbaresque1831
sensualistic1838
broad1849
conventional1851
expressional1856
tight1891
stylized1898
distressed1940
pop1956
transgressive1969
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > quality of being approvable or acceptable > popularity > [adjective] > of art and culture appealing to popular taste
popular1730
1730 J. Ralph Fashionable Lady iii. xix. 94 Every little Creature now, who has ever scribbled a Popular Ballad, or an amorous Song, thinks himself capable of writing an English Opera.
1765 Reliques Anc. Eng. Poetry III. Pref. p. v The memory of events was preserved and propagated among the ignorant laity by scarce any other means than the popular Songs of the Minstrels.
1801 Port Folio 7 Nov. 359/1 This collection of popular songs, in addition to its other ‘airs and graces’, has the charm of novelty.
1855 W. Chappell (title) Popular music of the olden time.
1898 G. B. Shaw Plays Pleasant & Unpleasant I. p. v I had no taste for what is called popular art, no respect for popular morality, [etc.].
1947 Sat. Rev. Lit. (U.S.) 10 May 9/2 By popular art we mean creative work that measures success by the size of its audience and the profit it brings to its makers.
1978 J. Pascall Illustr. Hist. Rock Music 12 Popular music has never existed to be analysed. It has existed purely to give pleasure. Rock & roll, more than any other popular music, defies intellectual examination.
1990 Pen Internat. 40 i. 24 Popular theatre is obviously feared by the authorities if it deals with the problems of people in poor city districts or in the countryside.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > self-esteem > conceit > [adjective]
opinative1517
opinionativea1549
nose-wise?1566
self-conceited?1574
self-weening1574
opiniative?1575
opinionate1575
conceited1579
weening1579
self-opinionative1584
self-opinionate1602
well-opinioned1608
self-opinioned1609
opinioned1612
opinionated1630
cocklikea1635
self-opinionated1649
vogie1719
swell-headed1817
egotistical1825
airish1842
popular1848
big-headed1860
biggity1880
bigsie1881
ikey1881
Tappertitian1895
swollen-headed1928
ditzy1976
1848 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 43 He see a cruetin Sarjunt a struttin round as popler as a hen with 1 chicking.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > [adjective]
goodOE
winlyOE
snella1000
winc1275
boonc1325
cleana1375
tidya1375
positivea1398
comelyc1400
kindc1400
kindly?a1425
well-formeda1425
trim?a1513
wally?a1513
bonnya1525
delicatea1533
goodlike1562
sappy1563
bein1567
rum1567
benedict1576
warrantable1581
true (also good, sure) as touch1590
goodlisomea1603
respectable1603
clever1738
amusing1753
plummy1787
bone1793
brickish1843
mooi1850
ryebuck1859
spandy1868
greatisha1871
healthy1878
popular1884
beefy1903
onkus1910
quies1919
cushty1929
high-powered1969
not shabby1975
1884 Sat. Rev. 8 Nov. 590/2 New York restaurant... ‘I don't call this very popular pie.’ They have come..to take popular quite gravely and sincerely as a synonym for good.
B. n.† 1. A member of the public; one of the common people. Usually in plural. Obsolete.In quot. a1525 applied to the pawns in chess.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > [noun] > one of the common people
Jackc1390
fellowa1400
commonerc1400
populara1525
plebeianc1550
ungentle1562
Tom Tiler1582
roturier1586
vulgarity1646
little man1707
pleb1795
man of the people1799
the man in the street1831
snob1831
man1860
oickman1925
a1525 Bk. Chess l. 51 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 82 The secund part..ye manere of nobillis king & qwene... The thrid part sall sum mencioun mak Of aucht popularis yat bene yaim with.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin i. 37 He confirmed with giftes..the courage and intencion of Iohn Loys de Fiesquo..and many other gentlemen and populars.
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 319 Together with all the populars of euery Prince in Christendome.
1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine Citie of God ii. xviii. 83 The newes of his death sturred both Patricians and Populars to ioy and mirth.
a1715 S. Rice Great Law of Crown (1726) xiv. 86 This I say, and much more to the same tune (which would make a noise, and drum rarely in populars ears and empty Heads, that are to be let unfurnished) we could alledge.
2. With the or another determiner. Ordinary people as a class; the populace. Now rare and archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > [noun]
folkc888
peoplea1325
frapec1330
commona1350
common peoplea1382
commonsa1382
commontya1387
communityc1400
meiniec1400
commonaltya1425
commonsa1500
vulgarsa1513
many1526
meinie1532
multitude1535
the many-headed beast (also monster)1537
number1542
ignobility1546
commonitya1550
popular1554
populace1572
popularya1578
vulgarity?1577
populacya1583
rout1589
the vulgar1590
plebs1591
mobile vulgusc1599
popularity1599
ignoble1603
the million1604
plebe1612
plebeity1614
the common filea1616
the herda1616
civils1644
commonality1649
democracy1656
menu1658
mobile1676
crowd1683
vulgusa1687
mob1691
Pimlico parliament?1774
citizenry1795
polloi1803
demos1831
many-headed1836
hoi polloi1837
the masses1837
citizenhood1843
John Q.1922
wimble-wamble1937
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour 4966 in Wks. (1931) I Ane holy exemplair Tyll ws, thy pure lawid commoun populair.
1633 J. Done tr. ‘Aristeas’ Aunc. Hist. Septuagint 19 All the rest of the Populer..he instituted as Colonies.
1943 R. Graves Story Marie Powell 163 There followed a general dirty rabble of the Abingdon popular, every man and woman armed with a musical instrument.
3. Short for ‘popular concert’. Cf. sense A. 4b, Pop n.7 Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > a performance > [noun] > concert > types of
Philharmonic concert1740
benefit-concert1759
chamber concert1760
recital1762
Dutch concert1774
concert performance1777
philharmonica1796
musical soirée1821
sacred concert1832
soirée musicale1836
promenade concert1839
pianoforte recital1840
ballad concert1855
piano recital1855
Monday pop1862
Pop1862
promenade1864
popular1865
Schubertiad1869
recitative1873
organ recital1877
pop concert1880
smoker1887
smoke concert1888
café concert1891
prom1902
smoke-ho1918
smoking-concert1934
hootenanny1940
opry1940
Liederabend1958
1865 Punch 4 Mar. 92/1 Pity poor Lucy! Obliged to go to the Monday Popular with Cousin Bess (from the country).
1885 J. Ruskin Pleasant Eng. 139 I suppose her presence at a Morning Popular is as little anticipated as desired.
1894 G. B. Shaw Music in London 1890–94 (1956) III. 146 It was at one of these recent Brahmsian Populars that Mr Oswald sang some vocal pieces.
1932 Times 12 July 4/7 Many Londoners will still remember her engagements at the Monday and Saturday ‘Populars’ at St. James's Hall.
4. Short for ‘popular newspaper’ (see sense A. 4a). Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > popular
tabloid1901
tab1927
popular1949
1949 Times 11 Oct. 4/7 I wish I could say the same of other sections of the Press—some of the Conservative ‘populars’ and even one semi-quality Conservative newspaper.
1952 H. Herd March of Journalism xvii. 326 Many popular newspapers..aim to interest everyman without indulging in sensationalism... Most of the ‘populars’ come within this classification.
1976 T. Heald Let Sleeping Dogs Die vi. 110 Bognor..picked up the paper. It was one of the populars.
2004 Guardian (Nexis) 17 May (Media section) 8 Year-on-year, the serious papers suffered a further dip, while the populars did even worse.
Compounds
C1. Parasynthetic, as popular-minded, popular-priced, popular-shaped adjs.
ΚΠ
1837 J. S. Mill in Westm. Rev. 37 8 This want is most felt..by the most popular-minded public men.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 20 Mar. 3/2 The popular-shaped flounce.
1958 Newnes Compl. Amateur Photogr. xvi. 158 The more popular-priced cameras fitted with lenses of f/3·5 or f/4·5, will be fast enough for instantaneous exposures in artificial light.
2003 Sunday Mirror (Nexis) 20 Apr. 66 When it comes to the most popular-shaped [Sylvac] bunnies, size and colour are everything—..unusual colours such as pink and yellow are highly sought after.
C2.
popular capitalism n. a type of capitalism in which the general public are encouraged to own shares, property, small businesses, etc.; the theory or practice of this.
ΚΠ
1949 Times 3 May 2/6 A property-owning democracy—or, as I prefer to call it, popular capitalism—will bring the opportunities for self-respect, for personal security and success.
1983 Financial Times 25 Jan. 2/2 Transferring shares to employees as part of a genuine popular capitalism.
1991 P. Hardy Right Approach to Econ. 82 This strategy of inequality..has led to..the possible emergence of an underclass, who lack any stake in popular capitalism and who are caught in the dependency culture.
popular culture n. the cultural traditions of the ordinary people of a particular community; (now) esp. = pop culture n. at pop n.8 and adj. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > a civilization or culture > [noun] > cultures by class
popular culture1854
proletkult1919
pop culture1959
midcult1960
white bread1996
1854 Defiance (Ohio) Democrat 11 Feb. The Newspaper Press is destined to be the chief instrument of popular culture.
1911 Times 17 Feb. 10/7 Fortunately, in the West of Ireland there still survived a remnant of the great popular culture, founded on sung or spoken traditional literature, once existing all over the world.
1966 D. Jenkins Educated Society ii. 58 Popular culture, which..is to be sharply distinguished from..commercialized ‘pop culture’..is the style of life of the majority of the members of a community.
1996 Independent (Nexis) 27 Sept. 2 Imagine your poem being judged by that most ruthless arbiter of popular culture—the clapometer.
popular etymology n. [compare later folk-etymology n. at folk n. Compounds 2 and its German model Volksetymologie] = folk-etymology n. at folk n. Compounds 2; (also) a generally accepted but unsubstantiated theory about the origins of a word or phrase; such theories collectively.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > linguistic unit > word > [noun] > change of form of word to give significance
popular etymology1789
parasynesis1877
folk-etymology1883
1789 R. Gough in tr. W. Camden Britannia III. 37/1 Mr. Camden seems to have hastily taken up the popular etymology of the name of Halifax.
1880 A. H. Sayce Introd. Sci. of Lang. II. ix. 246 Such myths are created by those popular etymologies—that Volksetymologie as the Germans call it—which play so large a part in local names.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. xxiii. 423 So-called popular etymologies are largely adaptive and contaminative. An irregular or semantically obscure form is replaced by a new form of more normal structure and some semantic content—though the latter is often far-fetched.
1971 Jrnl. Lancs. Dial. Soc. 20 8 Molly Dancers, performers of a traditional folk play... I assume the phrase to be a popular etymology for Morris Dancers.
2002 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 24 Jan. 28 Popular etymology has it that ‘posh’ is an acronym for Port Out, Starboard Home.
Derivatives
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1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China ii. xv. 181 There was but a quarter of a league distant one towne from an other, and..in all the Prouinces of the Kingdome, it is populared in the same order [Sp. Por que no anduuieron quatro delegua, en que noubiesse pueblo, y les dixeron que en todas las prouincias era de la mesma manera].
1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Comm. Notable Thinges in tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China Comm. xix. 374 Yet are they populared with much people.
ˈpopularish adj. fairly popular.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > quality of being approvable or acceptable > popularity > [adjective]
plausible1541
gracious1573
popular1608
plaudablea1650
popularish1824
popularist1962
1824 J. Wilson in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. June 721 Butter-brodt, as the Germans call it, in their superb and now popularish dialect.
1935 D. Jones Let. 20 July in R. Hague Dai Greatcoat (1980) 75 It's a popularish book—I don't know what the experts will have to say of it.
1999 New Statesman (Nexis) 22 Nov. Handsome, successful child of immigrant parents, together with, er, popularish, whiskery ex-cabinet minister.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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