popcorn

Etymology

It is formed from English pop + corn, from the verb and the noun,^[2][3][4] and is explained as a contraction of popped corn.^[5][6][7] The OED notes that popped corn is recorded slightly earlier for the snack.^[2] Dictionary.com marks the word as an Americanism.^[7][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A kind of Indian corn suitable for popping: 1819 in Etymonline.^[3] The OED's first record is from 1838, in the Huron Reflector of Norwalk, Ohio, for a variety of maize whose kernels burst open with a small explosive sound when heated;^[2][6] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1810–20.^[7]

Semantic evolution

From the plant the name passed to the burst kernels eaten as a snack, recorded from 1847, in Scientific American;^[2] the phrase to pop corn, to roast kernels until they burst, dates from the same year.^[3] According to Hendrickson, popcorn was already known to the Aztecs, the name was given by American settlers on the frontier in the early 19th century, and the grain was also called parching corn, pot corn, dry corn and buckshot; he also notes the great quantities sold in cinemas.^[8] Because the snack was cheap and ordinary, the word came to stand for lightweight things: in American underworld slang popcorn meant foolish or second-rate from 1893,^[9] while since 1950 in Merriam-Webster (1964 and 1973 in the OED) it describes entertainment with wide appeal but little depth, especially a popcorn movie.^[6][2] As an adjective it was also used from 1896 of raised stitches, from 1961 in North America of a bumpy textured ceiling, and since 1965 of bite-sized battered and fried food.^[2]

Timeline

• 1819 – a kind of Indian corn for popping.^[3]
• 1838 – a variety of maize whose kernels burst when heated.^[2][6]
• 1847 – the popped kernels eaten as a snack.^[2]
• 1893 – slang, foolish, second-rate.^[9]
• 1896 – adjective, of raised stitches.^[2]
• 1950 – adjective, popular but of little artistic merit.^[6]
• 1961 – adjective, of a textured ceiling (North American).^[2]
• 1964 – figurative noun, something merely entertaining, an undemanding film.^[2]
• 1965 – adjective, of bite-sized battered and fried food.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Maize kernels heated until they burst into light, white puffs, eaten as a snack with salt, butter or sugar: We shared a tub of popcorn during the film.
2. The variety of maize with small, very hard kernels grown for this.
3. (figurative) Something undemanding or merely entertaining, especially a film.

Adjective

1. Of a film or other entertainment: widely popular but superficial or undemanding.
2. (North American) Of a ceiling or wall: having a bumpy, textured surface.
3. Of food: in bite-sized pieces coated in batter or crumbs and deep-fried.

Word family

• popcorn flower

Related words

• pop
• corn

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com