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papa

[pah-puh, puh-pah]
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noun

father.
(initial capital letter) a code word used in communications, especially by radio, to represent the letter P.

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RELATED WORDS

dad, pop, daddy, pa

Nearby words

  1. paotow,
  2. pap,
  3. pap smear,
  4. pap technique,
  5. pap test,
  6. papable,
  7. papacy,
  8. papadopoulos,
  9. papadopoulos, george,
  10. papagayo

Origin of papa

1675–85; < French; Middle French pappa (nursery word); compare Latin pāpa father (see pope), Old Norse pāpi, pabbi father. See pap1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for papa

British Dictionary definitions for papa

papa

1

noun

old-fashioned an informal word for father (def. 1)

Word Origin for papa

C17: from French, a children's word for father; compare Late Latin pāpa, Greek pappa

noun

RC Church another name for the pope 1 (def. 1)

Word Origin for papa

C16: from Italian

noun

NZ rare. a soft blue-grey clay of marine siltstone or sandstone

Word Origin for papa

Māori

Papa

noun

communications a code word for the letter p
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 papa

papa

n.

"father," 1680s, from French papa, from Latin papa, originally a child's word, cf. Greek pappa (vocative) "o father," pappas "father," pappos "grandfather." The native word is daddy; first use of papa was in courtly speech, as a continental affectation, not used by common folk until late 18c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper