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



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Word of the Day

26 November 2024

TRANSPOSITION

(noun) (music) playing in a different key from the key intended; moving the pitch of a piece of music upwards or downwards


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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