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6 dictionary results for: popular
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pop·u·lar       [pop-yuh-ler] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.regarded with favor, approval, or affection by people in general: a popular preacher.
2.regarded with favor, approval, or affection by an acquaintance or acquaintances: He's not very popular with me just now.
3.of, pertaining to, or representing the people, esp. the common people: popular discontent.
4.of the people as a whole, esp. of all citizens of a nation or state qualified to participate in an election: popular suffrage; the popular vote; popular representation.
5.prevailing among the people generally: a popular superstition.
6.suited to or intended for the general masses of people: popular music.
7.adapted to the ordinary intelligence or taste: popular lectures on science.
8.suited to the means of ordinary people; not expensive: popular prices on all tickets.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME populer < L populāris. See people, -ar1]

1. favorite, approved, liked. 5. common, current. See general.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pop·u·lar       (pŏp'yə-lər)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Widely liked or appreciated: a popular resort.
  2. Liked by acquaintances; sought after for company: "Beware of over-great pleasure in being popular or even beloved" (Margaret Fuller).
  3. Of, representing, or carried on by the people at large: the popular vote.
  4. Fit for, adapted to, or reflecting the taste of the people at large: popular entertainment; popular science.
  5. Accepted by or prevalent among the people in general: a popular misunderstanding of the issue.
  6. Suited to or within the means of ordinary people: popular prices.
  7. Originating among the people: popular legend.


[Middle English populer, commonly known, from Old French populeir, of the people, from Latin populāris, from populus, the people, of Etruscan origin.]

pop'u·lar·ly adv.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
popular 
1490, "public," from L. popularis "belonging to the people," from populus "people." Meaning "well-liked, admired by the people" is attested from 1608. Popularity "fact or condition of being beloved by the people" is first recorded 1601; popularity contest is from 1941. Popular Front "coalition of Communists, Socialists, and radicals" is from 1936. Popularize "to make a complex topic intelligible to the people" is from 1833.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
popular

adjective
1. regarded with great favor, approval, or affection especially by the general public; "a popular tourist attraction"; "a popular girl"; "cabbage patch dolls are no longer popular" [ant: unpopular
2. carried on by or for the people (or citizens) at large; "the popular vote"; "popular representation"; "institutions of popular government" 
3. representing or appealing to or adapted for the benefit of the people at large; "democratic art forms"; "a democratic or popular movement"; "popular thought"; "popular science"; "popular fiction" [syn: democratic
4. (of music or art) new and of general appeal (especially among young people) 

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: pop·u·lar
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to the general public
2 a : of, relating to, or by the people (as of a nation or state) as a whole as distinguished from a specific class or group b : based on or alleged to be based on the will of the people

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Popular

Pop"u*lar\, a. [L. popularis, fr. populus people: cf. F. populaire. See People.]

1. Of or pertaining to the common people, or to the whole body of the people, as distinguished from a select portion; as, the popular voice; popular elections. "Popular states." --Bacon. "So the popular vote inclines." --Milton.

The men commonly held in popular estimation are greatest at a distance. --J. H. Newman.

2. Suitable to common people; easy to be comprehended; not abstruse; familiar; plain.

Homilies are plain popular instructions. --Hooker.

3. Adapted to the means of the common people; possessed or obtainable by the many; hence, cheap; common; ordinary; inferior; as, popular prices; popular amusements.

The smallest figs, called popular figs, . . . are, of all others, the basest and of least account. --Holland.

4. Beloved or approved by the people; pleasing to people in general, or to many people; as, a popular preacher; a popular law; a popular administration.

5. Devoted to the common people; studious of the favor of the populace. [R.]

Such popular humanity is treason. --Addison.

6. Prevailing among the people; epidemic; as, a popular disease. [Obs.] --Johnson.

Popular action (Law), an action in which any person may sue for penalty imposed by statute. --Blackstone.

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