Popeye

//ˈpɒpˌaɪ// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Exophthalmia. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    Coryphaenoides cinereus (syn. Macrurus cinereus), a deep sea fish. countable, uncountable
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A tough cartoon sailor, full name Popeye the Sailor, characterized by bulging forearm muscles, a squinty eye, and an affinity for spinach.

    "They seem equipped to drag the building between them right down Pennsylvania Avenue, but their progress is arrested by two heroes of Popeye musculature, government men putting a check rein on willful industry."

  2. 2
    A nickname for a person who has attributes of the cartoon character.

    "The UPU faction, headed by Popeye Jackson, drew considerable numbers of members away from the Prisoners' Union when it split off in 1973, primarily taking with it the union's more radical convicts."

Synonyms

All synonyms
exophthalmiaexophthalmia

Example

More examples

"His dog was named Popeye by him."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Fictional character name coined in 1929 by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar, presumably pop + eye.

Etymology 2

From pop + eye.

Related phrases

popeye blacksmelt

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.