popularan

Popularan is an adjective used in several South Slavic languages, including Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian, to describe something that has broad appeal or is widely liked. It can refer to people, works of art, brands, ideas, or trends that are well known and favored by a large audience. Examples include popularan film, popularna knjiga, or popularne pjesme, with the form agreeing in gender and number with the noun it modifies.

Etymology and usage notes often point to Latin origin. The term is derived from popularis “of the people,” and was incorporated into South Slavic vocabularies through historical contact and development of modern standard languages. Because of its meaning, popularan is common in media, marketing, and everyday speech to label items as having broad appeal or mainstream acceptance.

Grammar and morphology: popularan inflects for gender and number. In masculine singular it is popularan (e.g., popularan film); feminine singular is popularna (e.g., popularna knjiga); neuter singular is popularno (e.g., popularno društvo). Plurals follow standard patterns: masculine plural popularni (e.g., popularni filmovi), feminine plural popularne (e.g., popularne knjige), neuter plural popularna (e.g., popularna društva). It forms part of a broader adjective class that declines with cases in each language.

See also: popularnost (the noun meaning popularity) and popularizirati (to popularize).