lollipop
/ˈlɑlipɑp/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.15 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An item of confectionery consisting of a piece of candy or sweet attached to a stick.
Example Sentences
- "The gene III proteins appear as five lollipops protruding from the end of the phage, and these “balls” can be removed by treatment of the phage with subtilisin, rendering the phage noninfectious."
- "The reasons for this containment of gated communities and private streets are not to be sought in morphology (suburban residential developments with lollipops and dead ends are common in France), but rather in local practices by residents."
- "Mount Pleasant itself is a lollipop trail. Walking along the handle of the lollipop is a breeze—the perfect warm-up for the uphill climb at the beginning of the loop."
Etymology
By surface analysis, loll (“laze, hang loose”) + y + pop (“shot, try, burst, enter”); likely through lolly (“head, tongue”). Attested from 1784. Compare lollygag and lollypoop. An unlikely derivation is from Romani loli (“red”) + phabaj (“apple”); candy apples are often red and placed on a stick to keep the person's hands dry, similar to lollipops. However candy apples were not well-known until a century after the first known use of the word lollipop, and the original lollipop was likely a small item like modern penny candy.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlɑlipɑp/
- British English: /ˈlɒlipɒp/