pap

1
[ pap ]
See synonyms for pap on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. soft food for infants or invalids, as bread soaked in water or milk.

  2. an idea, talk, book, or the like, lacking substance or real value.

Origin of pap

1
1400–50; late Middle English; a nursery word akin to Dutch pap,German Pappe,Latin, Italian pappa

Other words for pap

Other words from pap

  • paplike, adjective

Other definitions for pap (2 of 2)

pap2
[ pap ]

nounChiefly Dialect.
  1. a teat; nipple.

  2. something resembling a teat or nipple.

Origin of pap

2
1150–1200; Middle English pappe; compare dialectal Norwegian, Swedish pappe,Latin papilla (see papilla), Lithuanian pãpas, all from a base *pap-; akin to pap1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pap in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pap (1 of 3)

pap1

/ (pæp) /


noun
  1. any soft or semiliquid food, such as bread softened with milk, esp for babies or invalids; mash

  2. Southern African porridge made from maize

  1. worthless or oversimplified ideas; drivel: intellectual pap

Origin of pap

1
C15: from Middle Low German pappe, via Medieval Latin from Latin pappāre to eat; compare Dutch pap, Italian pappa

British Dictionary definitions for pap (2 of 3)

pap2

/ (pæp) /


noun
  1. Scot and Northern English dialect a nipple or teat

    • something resembling a breast or nipple, such as (formerly) one of a pair of rounded hilltops

    • (capital as part of a name): the Pap of Glencoe

Origin of pap

2
C12: of Scandinavian origin, imitative of a sucking sound; compare Latin papilla nipple, Sanskrit pippalaka

British Dictionary definitions for pap (3 of 3)

pap3

/ (pæp) informal /


verbpaps, papping or papped (tr)
  1. (of the paparazzi) to follow and photograph (a famous person)

Origin of pap

3
C20: from paparazzo

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012