popper

Pronunciation: /ˈpɑ.pɚ/

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun British philosopher (born in Austria) who argued that scientific theories can never be proved to be true, but are tested by attempts to falsify them (1902-1994)
  2. noun a container of stimulant drug (amyl nitrate or butyl nitrite)
  3. noun a container for cooking popcorn

Etymology

From Middle English poppere, equivalent to pop + -er (suffix forming agent noun). Etymology 1 sense 8 ("capsule of amyl nitrite") is derived from the popping sound when the capsule is broken open; from which etymology 1 sense 9 also derives.

In classic literature

Synonyms

Karl Popper, Sir Karl Raimund Popper

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
philosopher

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