paddy

[ pad-ee ]

/ ˈpæd i /

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noun, plural pad·dies.

a rice field.

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

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Origin of paddy

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH paddy

paddy , patty

Words nearby paddy

paddle tennis, paddle wheel, paddle worm, paddock, paddock-basher, paddy, paddy-last, paddymelon, paddy wagon, paddywhack, pademelon

Other definitions for paddy (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 for Paddy

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. 2022

How to use paddy in a sentence

In a 2015 and 2016 drought, saltwater reached up to 90 kilometers inland, destroying 405,000 hectares of rice paddies.
Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk|Nikk Ogasa|September 24, 2021|Science News
Most rice plants are grown in fields, or paddies, that are typically filled with around 10 centimeters of water.
Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk|Nikk Ogasa|September 24, 2021|Science News
Increasing the temperature and carbon dioxide levels to match future climate scenarios enhanced the activity of the microbes living in the rice paddy soils and increased the amount of arsenic in the grains, Muehe says.
Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk|Nikk Ogasa|September 24, 2021|Science News
One widely studied, drought-friendly method is “alternate wetting and drying,” or intermittent flooding, which involves flooding and draining rice paddies on one- to 10-day cycles, as opposed to maintaining a constant inundation.
Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk|Nikk Ogasa|September 24, 2021|Science News

Among those on board an overcrowded cargo plane that crashed into a rice paddy shortly after takeoff on April 4, was Captain Mary Therese Klinker, 27, of the Air Force.
Eight Women’s Names Are Among the Thousands on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Here’s What to Know About Them|Francine Uenuma|May 27, 2021|Time
The legendary Captain Paddy Brown was by some accounts the most decorated firefighter in the nation.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11|John Avlon|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Is Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (which won the Mann Booker Prize in 1993) the only one of your novels that stands on its own?
The Prodigious Roddy Doyle Is the Celtic Tiger of Irish Literature|Allen Barra|March 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power funded the trips to the Hermit Kingdom, but stopped after Kim Jong-Un purged his uncle.
Dennis Rodman’s Sponsor for North Korea Trips Decides Working With a Homicidal Tyrant Was a Bad Idea|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Was it anything that Scott saw when he was in Pyongyang that encouraged Paddy Power to drop the project?
Dennis Rodman’s Sponsor for North Korea Trips Decides Working With a Homicidal Tyrant Was a Bad Idea|Tom Sykes|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One time, when an armored car drove by, Paddy Considine said, “Hey, Martin, are those your Hobbit residuals?”
My London Getaway With Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Stars of ‘The World’s End’|Marlow Stern|November 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Nearly all the mutineers swung round and galloped headlong for the landward boundary of the paddy field.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
The warrior uttered a grunt of pain, cast a surprised angry stare at the shaveling of a Paddy, and thrust with his lance.
Overland|John William De Forest
"I should like to see you do it," returned Aunt Maria, looking indignantly at the interfering Paddy.
Overland|John William De Forest
Paddy Rouse sprang inside with drawn pistol, but a hand struck up his pistol arm and his harmless shot went through the roof.
The Argus Pheasant|John Charles Beecham
At that moment Paddy, hatless and disheveled, plunged through the crowd toward Peter Gross.
The Argus Pheasant|John Charles Beecham

British Dictionary definitions for paddy (1 of 3)

paddy¹

/ (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 paddy (2 of 3)

paddy²

/ (ˈpædɪ) /

noun plural -dies

British informal a fit of temper

Word Origin for paddy

C19: from Paddy

British Dictionary definitions for paddy (3 of 3)

Paddy

/ (ˈpædɪ) /

noun plural -dies

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

Word Origin for Paddy

from Patrick

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