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 confusedpaddy pate pâte pâtépaddy patty

Definition 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

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 paddy

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
Linkin ses "they are like to Paddy's flee, when you git where they are they ain't ther."
Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville Militia|Seba Smith
Wasser led the way, Alick and Paddy following close after him.
The Three Midshipmen|W.H.G. Kingston
I preached it over several times in the granary with only Paddy, sitting immovably on a puncheon, for audience.
The Story Girl|Lucy Maud Montgomery
Paddy stepped with awkward care across the room and seated himself on the edge of a chair.
The Long Dim Trail|Forrestine C. Hooker
Paddy had seen the big stranger on the edge of his pond early the night before.
The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer|Thornton W. Burgess

British Dictionary definitions for paddy (1 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 paddy (2 of 3)

paddy

/ (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

Word Origin and History for paddy (1 of 2)

paddy

n.1

"rice field," 1620s, "rice plant," from Malay padi "rice in the straw." Main modern meaning "ground where rice is growing" (1948) is a shortening of paddy field.

Word Origin and History for paddy (1 of 2)

Paddy

n.2

"Irishman," 1780, slang, from the pet form of the common Irish proper name Patrick (Irish Padraig). It was in use in black slang by 1946 for any "white person." Paddy wagon is 1930, perhaps so called because many police officers were Irish. Paddywhack (1881) originally meant "an Irishman."