Meanings
plural poplollies
- obsoleteA man's mistress, or a single woman of loose morals; a sweetheart.
This house presided over by a poplolly! a magnificent woman, dressed to perfection, without a vestige of her former habits.
1825, Thomas Creevey, The Creevey Papers (private correspondence)1 more example
"[the daughter] Was offered a provision by her brother," said the landlord indignantly, "on terms that would have disgraced a poplolly; but she preferred her independence with poverty, and none to blame her.
1913, Bernard Capes, “Tony's Drum”, in Bag and Baggage
Origin
- Frenchpoupe“doll”
- Englishpoplolly
Likely a fanciful variant of poplet, ultimately from French poupe (“doll”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
poplolly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poplolly
“poplolly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poplolly. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poplolly,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poplolly.
Source: poplolly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.