POPULARITIES
Noun
popularities
plural of popularity
Source: Wiktionary
POPULARITY
Pop`u*lar"i*ty, n.; pl. Popularities. Etym: [L. popularitas an effort
to please the people: cf. F. popularité.]
1. The quality or state of being popular; especially, the state of
being esteemed by, or of being in favor with, the people at large;
good will or favor proceeding from the people; as, the popularity of
a law, statesman, or a book.
A popularity which has lasted down to our time. Macaulay.
2. The quality or state of being adapted or pleasing to common, poor,
or vulgar people; hence, cheapness; inferiority; vulgarity.
This gallant laboring to avoid popularity falls into a habit of
affectation. B. Jonson.
3. Something which obtains, or is intended to obtain, the favor of
the vulgar; claptrap.
Popularities, and circumstances which . . . sway the ordinary
judgment. Bacon.
4. The act of courting the favor of the people. [Obs.] "Indicted . .
. for popularity and ambition." Holland.
5. Public sentiment; general passion. [R.]
A little time be allowed for the madness of popularity to cease.
Bancroft.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition