paddy

[ pad-ee ]

/ ˈpæd i /

noun, plural pad·dies.

a rice field.

rice, especially in the husk, either uncut or gathered.

Nearby words

paddleboard, paddleboat, paddlefish, paddock, paddock-basher, paddy, paddy wagon, paddy-last, paddymelon, paddywhack, pademelon

Origin of paddy

1590–1600; < Malay padi unhusked rice; currency of this word in E of India perhaps due to early association with Kannada batta, bhatta unhusked rice (< Indo-Aryan; compare Hindi, Marathi bhāt cooked rice, Sanskrit bhakhta food, meal)

Can be confused

paddy pate pâte pâtépaddy patty

Definition for paddies (2 of 2)

Paddy

[ pad-ee ]

/ ˈpæd i /

noun, plural Pad·dies.

Slang: Often Offensive. an Irishman or a person of Irish descent.

a male given name.

Origin of Paddy

familiar variant of Irish Padraig Patrick; see -y²

Usage note

This term is used as a neutral nickname or term of address for an Irishman, though it may be perceived as insulting.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for paddies

One day when I went into the country it happened to be raining hard, but the men and women toiled in the paddies.
The Foundations of Japan|J.W. Robertson Scott
That rice is grown in paddies, which are fields with little earth walls around them called dikes.
The Golden Skull|John Blaine
In Italian paddies, also, I saw many more weeds than in ours.
The Foundations of Japan|J.W. Robertson Scott
The seed beds from which the rice is transplanted to the paddies were a vivid Page 307 green.
The Foundations of Japan|J.W. Robertson Scott

This is done in paddies under deep water which cannot be plowed or in second-growth forests between the trees.
A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan|John U. Wolff

British Dictionary definitions for paddies (1 of 3)

Paddy

/ (ˈpædɪ) /

noun plural -dies

(sometimes not capital) an informal, often derogatory, name for an Irishman

Word Origin for Paddy

from Patrick

British Dictionary definitions for paddies (2 of 3)

paddy

/ (ˈpædɪ) /

noun plural -dies

Also called: paddy field a field planted with rice

rice as a growing crop or when harvested but not yet milled

Word Origin for paddy

from Malay pādī

British Dictionary definitions for paddies (3 of 3)

paddy

/ (ˈpædɪ) /

noun plural -dies

British informal a fit of temper

Word Origin for paddy

C19: from Paddy

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