popple

¹

[ pop-uhl ]

verb (used without object)

, pop·pled, pop·pling.

1. to move in a tumbling, irregular manner, as boiling water.

noun

1. a poppling motion.

popple

²

[ pop-uhl ]

noun

, Northern U.S.

1. a poplar of the genus Populus.

popple

/ ˈpɒpəl /

verb

1. (of boiling water or a choppy sea) to heave or toss; bubble
2. often foll by along (of a stream or river) to move with an irregular tumbling motion

   the small rivulet poppled along over rocks and stones for half a mile

Word History and Origins

Origin of popple¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English poplen; imitative; -le

Origin of popple²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English popul, from Latin pōpulus

Word History and Origins

Origin of popple¹

C14: of imitative origin; compare Middle Dutch popelen to bubble, throb

Example Sentences

All the sounds were of water: the tick-tack of melting snow hitting tin roofs, the popple of gravity-fed pipes pouring mountain water into troughs.

From Washington Post

“Planning is going to be more sophisticated,” said Ryan Popple, co-founder of Proterra, which produced some of Austin’s electric buses.

From Reuters

She initially takes instruction on New York society’s hierarchies from gossip columns and her manicurist, but Undine’s looks soon gain her entrée into conversation with a fashionable portraitist named Popple, and then an invitation to dine at the home of the elegant Fairfords, where Mrs. Fairford’s brother, Ralph Marvell, pays her particular attention.

From New York Times

Derek Popple, a UC Berkeley chemistry and physics graduate student, came for a coffee with a friend carrying his own mug.

From The Guardian

“Because of my background, we had some hilarious conversations at first,” says Popple of meetings with labor reps.

From Los Angeles Times