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• paddy
  paddy

  noun

  a rice field.
• Paddy
  Paddy

  noun

  an Irishman or a person of Irish descent.

paddy

¹ American  

[pad-ee] / ˈpæd i /

noun

• paddies
  plural

1. a rice field.

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

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Paddy ² American  

[pad-ee] / ˈpæd i /

noun

• Paddies
  plural

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

2. a male given name.

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paddy ¹ British  

/ ˈpædɪ /

noun

1. Also called: paddy field.  a field planted with rice

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

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Paddy ² British  

/ ˈpædɪ /

noun

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

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paddy ³ British  

/ ˈpædɪ /

noun

1. informal a fit of temper

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Sensitive Note

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Paddies
  plural
• paddies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paddy¹

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”)

Origin of Paddy²

Familiar variant of Irish Padraig Patrick; see -y ²

Explanation

A paddy is a field used for growing rice. Paddies are different from most other crop fields because they are partially flooded with water. If you plan on farming a rice paddy, you'll probably want to invest in a good pair of waterproof boots. There are a few kinds of rice that can grow in dry soil, but most need the soggy soil that a paddy provides. Most rice paddies are located in various parts of Asia, although they can also be found in Spain, Haiti, and the state of California. Another meaning of this word is "unmilled rice." The Malay root of paddy is padi, "rice in the straw."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paddy Paddy Paddies paddies

"He wakes up almost every two hours and have a screaming paddy which takes almost a hour to get him back to sleep xx."

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

"As the planet becomes warmer and wetter, methane emissions from wetlands, inland waters, and paddy rice systems will increasingly shape near-term climate change," said Tian.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 10, 2026

A number of them are bordered by mountains, cities or paddy fields, making it harder to break out of the beach perimeter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 2025

The island's formerly verdant south has been transformed by a tourism boom that brought jobs and economic benefits, but also paved over and built on paddy fields and coconut groves that once provided drainage.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025

“I saw the paddy turned to straw, the grain lost....Oh God, all was lost.”

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Paddy McGuinness, Zoe Ball and Morgan Burtwistle, better known as Angry Ginge, will each appear as guest judges, setting the celebrities bespoke challenges.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Comedian Paddy Raff posted a tribute to Kelly on social media, describing his interviews with the broadcaster as a "career highlight".

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

He is still officially Britain's Strongest Man after winning the title for a fourth time in February, beating Adam Bishop and Paddy Haynes.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Gaethje earned the interim lightweight title in January by defeating Paddy Pimblett by unanimous decision.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

I never had a sangwidge in me life, and we all laugh and I wonder how you could live ten years like Paddy and never have a sandwich.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

He said when the artist first told him about the idea "he talked about the idea of different Paddies who have all done interesting things".

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2023

Paddies require enough water to keep rice plants partially submerged to grow.

From Reuters ● Jun. 16, 2015

Paddies were blackened with salt water, the rice crop destroyed.

From Time Magazine Archive

Such subjects as Agriculture, Hokkaido, Labour, Paddies, Rice and Sericulture are indexed at length, but some matters which relate to them and are of general interest appear in the body of the Index.

From The Foundations of Japan Notes Made During Journeys Of 6,000 Miles In The Rural Districts As A Basis For A Sounder Knowledge Of The Japanese People by J.W. Robertson Scott

The shallow waters of the bay were being filled up by the rubbish from the town and by the débris from the operations of the Steam Paddies.

From The Forty-Niners A Chronicle of the California Trail and El Dorado by Stewart Edward White

So with farmers facing arid brown fields that should be flooded, lush paddies, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim this week announced cloud-seeding operations to trigger rain.

From Barron's ● May 8, 2026

Niigata prefecture is a coastal idyll of steep mountains and lush rice paddies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

They have also been affected by habitat loss from human settlements and agriculture especially cashew plantations, corn and rice paddies.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025

During spring, the onset of rice planting necessitates ample water in rice paddies and fields in South Korea.

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2024

And a generation before that, all you would have seen were rice paddies.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell