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Original · left

Soap bubble

A thin film of soapy water enclosing air, forming a hollow sphere that floats and pops.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Economic bubble

A period when asset prices rise far above their underlying value, driven by speculation, before collapsing.

First in use: c. 1720

Bubble / Soap bubble / Economic bubble

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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Named for the South Sea Bubble of 1720.

Which meaning of Bubble is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Soap bubble came first (ancient / pre-modern). Economic bubble arrived in 1720. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Soap bubbleEconomic bubble
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

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The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Soap bubble

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Duplicate · c. 1720

Economic bubble

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More duplicated terms

Money & fintech

Visa · Visa (payments)Stock · Stock (shares)Bull · Bull marketBear · Bear marketHedge · Hedge (finance)Future · Futures contractMargin · Margin (finance)Liquidity · Market liquidityDividend · Dividend (payout)Chime · Chime (neobank)Wise · Wise (money transfer)Toast · Toast (restaurant POS)Clover · Clover (point of sale)Acorns · Acorns (investing app)Ramp · Ramp (corporate cards)Gusto · Gusto (payroll)Affirm · Affirm (buy now, pay later)Kraken · Kraken (crypto exchange)