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popper

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Etymology and origin of the English word popper

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1405 Chaucer, Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt manuscript) More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
English pop
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French papa
English papa
English pop
English popper
Italian papà
From the same root
English pa ← papa
English lollipop ← pop
English popcorn ← pop

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈpɒp.ə/[1]
  • US: /ˈpɑ.pɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English pop + -er,[2][3][4][5][6] the verb pop being of imitative origin.[2][5] According to the OED, the word apparently died out in Middle English, when it meant a small dagger, and was formed again in the 18th century.[2] Middle English also had a verb poperen, to ride fast, perhaps by spurring the horse, from the verb pop with a frequentative -er;[7][2] it is recorded only about 1400, in “Piers Plowman”.[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small dagger: about 1405, in the Hengwrt manuscript of Chaucer's Reeve's Tale,[2][3] the only use of the word in Chaucer.[8]

Semantic evolution

The modern word began as "something that pops": a person who fires a gun (1733 to 1853),[2][4] and a gun itself, especially a pistol, from 1750 in Coventry's Pompey the Little,[9][5] a book the OED cites in its 1751 edition;[2] the gun sense is now slang.[2] In 1760 a popper was also a person who pops in on a brief visit.[2] The 19th century added a cricket ball that rises sharply off the pitch (1857),[2] a pan for popping corn (1847 in Etymonline, 1862 in the OED),[5][2] and in the American West the cracking end of a whip (1869).[10][2] In the 20th century the word was used for a fishing lure that pops on the surface (1936),[2] a press stud in British English (1959)[2] and, in drug slang, an intravenous drug user (1952),[9] a pill-taker (1967)[2] and, in the plural, ampoules of amyl or butyl nitrite inhaled as a stimulant (1966).[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1405 – a small dagger (obsolete).[2][3]
  • 1733 – a person who fires a gun (obsolete by 1853).[2]
  • 1750 – a gun, especially a pistol.[9][5] The OED's first record is from 1751.[2]
  • 1760 – a person who makes brief visits.[2]
  • 1847 – a pan for popping corn.[5] The OED dates this sense to 1862.[2]
  • 1857 – in cricket, a ball that rises sharply.[2]
  • 1869 – the cracking end of a whip.[10]
  • 1936 – a fishing lure that pops on the surface.[2]
  • 1959 – a press stud.[2]
  • 1966 – amyl nitrite inhaled as a drug.[2]
  • 1967 – a person who takes pills freely.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person or thing that pops.[4][11][12]
  2. A pan or other utensil for making popcorn.[4][11][2]
  3. (slang) A small vial of amyl nitrite or butyl nitrite, inhaled as a stimulant or aphrodisiac; usually in the plural, poppers.[4][11][12][2]
  4. (British) A press stud.[2][1]
  5. (angling) A surface lure that makes a popping sound when pulled through the water.[2][1]
  6. A piece at the end of a whip that makes a cracking sound.[2][10][1]
  7. (slang) A gun, especially a pistol.[2][9]
  8. A variety of corn suited to popping.[4]
  9. (cricket) A ball that rises sharply from the pitch.[2]
  10. (obsolete) A small dagger.[2][3]

Word family

  • eye-popper
  • pill popper

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  8. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  9. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  10. ^ a b c Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
  11. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  12. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Popper.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/popper. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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