paddy

¹

[ pad-ee ]

noun

, plural pad·dies.

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

Paddy

²

[ pad-ee ]

noun

, plural Pad·dies.

1. Slang: Often Offensive. an Irishman or a person of Irish descent.
2. a male given name.

Paddy

¹

/ ˈpædɪ /

noun

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

paddy

²

/ ˈpædɪ /

noun

1. Also calledpaddy field a field planted with rice
2. rice as a growing crop or when harvested but not yet milled

paddy

³

/ ˈpædɪ /

noun

1. informal.
   a fit of temper

Sensitive Note

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

Word History and Origins

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; -y ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of paddy¹

from Patrick

Origin of paddy²

from Malay pādī

Origin of paddy³

C19: from Paddy

Example Sentences

Most rice plants are grown in fields, or paddies, that are typically filled with around 10 centimeters of water.

From 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.

From Science News

In a 2015 and 2016 drought, saltwater reached up to 90 kilometers inland, destroying 405,000 hectares of rice paddies.

From 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.

From 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.

From Time

The legendary Captain Paddy Brown was by some accounts the most decorated firefighter in the nation.

From The 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?

From The Daily Beast

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power funded the trips to the Hermit Kingdom, but stopped after Kim Jong-Un purged his uncle.

From The Daily Beast

Was it anything that Scott saw when he was in Pyongyang that encouraged Paddy Power to drop the project?

From The Daily Beast

One time, when an armored car drove by, Paddy Considine said, “Hey, Martin, are those your Hobbit residuals?”

From The Daily Beast

Nearly all the mutineers swung round and galloped headlong for the landward boundary of the paddy field.

From Project Gutenberg

The warrior uttered a grunt of pain, cast a surprised angry stare at the shaveling of a Paddy, and thrust with his lance.

From Project Gutenberg

"I should like to see you do it," returned Aunt Maria, looking indignantly at the interfering Paddy.

From Project Gutenberg

Paddy Rouse sprang inside with drawn pistol, but a hand struck up his pistol arm and his harmless shot went through the roof.

From Project Gutenberg

At that moment Paddy, hatless and disheveled, plunged through the crowd toward Peter Gross.

From Project Gutenberg