papa

[pah-puh, puh-pah]

noun

1. father.

2. Papa, a code word used in communications, especially by radio, to represent the letter P.

Papa

¹

/ ˈpɑːpɑː /

noun

1. communications a code word for the letter p

papa

²

/ pəˈpɑː /

noun

1. old-fashioned,  an informal word for father

papa

³

/ ˈpɑːpɑː /

noun

1. RC Church another name for the pope 1

papa

⁴

/ ˈpɑːpa /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of papa¹

First recorded in 1675–85; from French; Middle French pappa (nursery word); compare Latin pāpa “father” ( pope ), Old Norse pāpi, pabbi “father”; pap ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of papa¹

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

Origin of papa²

C16: from Italian

Origin of papa³

Māori

Example Sentences

Dr. Brenner, or Eleven’s “papa” as his test subjects called him, was killed by military gunfire when officers invaded his research facility in search of Eleven.

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“Sounds like a papa wolf and a cute little wolf cub to me.”

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When Gustav swaggers back into the daughters’ lives to play the cheery grandfather and beloved papa, both are skeptical.

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To me, and everyone else in my family, he’s always been papa.

Read more on Salon

How does “the papa,” the upholder of tradition, as the musical’s opening number spells out, maintain his self-respect, if not his authority?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dad