paddy
pronunciation
How to pronounce paddy in British English:
UK [ˈpædi]
How to pronounce paddy in American English:
US [ˈpædi]
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- Noun:
- an irrigated or flooded field where rice is grown
- rice in the husk either gathered or still in the field
Word Origin
- 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.
- 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."
Example
- 1. Paddy fields and aquifers are still contaminated with salt water .
- 2. Hydropower production has been slashed and vast swaths of paddy fields are parched .
- 3. As we cut the paddy it started to rain .
- 4. Sometimes we would pass men ploughing a field with oxen or sturdy girls working in the paddy fields .
- 5. Just as in the paddy fields , a hint of ostracism could be a powerful corrective tool .