populaire

Populaire is a French adjective meaning "popular" or "of the people." It is used to describe things that have broad appeal or relate to ordinary citizens rather than specialists. The word derives from Latin popularis, through Old French, and has cognates in other Romance languages. The masculine and feminine forms share the same spelling.

In usage, populaire appears in a variety of fixed expressions. Common examples include culture populaire (popular culture), musique populaire (folk or popular music), and un lieu populaire (a place frequented by many). It is also used in political and social contexts, as in mouvement populaire (grassroots movement) or opinion populaire (popular opinion). While it often conveys mass appeal, it should not be confused with populiste, which denotes a political stance aimed at appealing to the common people.

In English-language writing, populaire is usually translated as "popular" and, in cultural contexts, as "popular culture" or "folk." In French-language media and scholarship, the term helps distinguish mainstream, accessible forms from more specialized or elite variants.