popular

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin populāris, from populus (“people”) + -āris (“-ar”).

adj

1. Common among the general public; generally accepted.
   Contrary to popular misconception, MacArthur Park is not the worst song ever written. 23 Aug 2007, Joe Queenan, The Guardian
2. (law) Concerning the people; public.
3. Pertaining to or deriving from the people or general public.
   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. 1594, Richard Hooker, Preface
   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. 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 645
   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. 2009, Graham Smith, The Guardian, letter, 27 May 2009
4. (obsolete) Of low birth, not noble; vulgar, plebian.
5. Aimed at ordinary people, as opposed to specialists etc.; intended for general consumption.
   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. 8 Apr 2009, “Meltdown”, in The Economist
6. (obsolete) Cultivating the favour of the common people.
   Such popular humanity is treason. 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato, A Tragedy
7. Liked by many people; generally pleasing, widely admired.
   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. 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion
   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. 2 Oct 2011, The Observer
   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. 2013-03, David S. Senchina, “Athletics and Herbal Supplements”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, page 134
8. Adapted to the means of the common people; cheap.

noun

1. A person who is popular, especially at a school.
   To pass time, Nicole (Tammy Lynn Michaels), the most vicious of the populars, decides they should play a little game. Earlier that day, in their feminist studies class, the women were discussing Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a novel ... 2002, Stephen Tropiano, The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV, Hal Leonard Corporation
2. (chiefly in the plural) An inexpensive newspaper with wide circulation.
   Serious newspapers boomed; the populars became tabloid supplements to television, with the television schedules and related features increasingly the core of the newspaper. 1983, Jeremy Tunstall, The Media in Britain, Columbia University Press, page 75
3. A member of the Populares
   … when their ambassadors were come from Samos, and that they saw not only the populars, but also some others of their own party thought trusty before, to be now changed. 1843, Thucydides, “The” History of the Grecian War, Translated by Thomas Hobbes, page 415