paddy

paddy · noun¹

1. Malay · borrowed frompadi“paddy plant”
2. English todaypaddy

Borrowed from Malay padi (“paddy plant”). Doublet of palay.

paddy · adjective²

English dialect paddy (“worm-eaten”).

paddy · noun³

Possibly from Paddy (“Irishman”).

paddy · noun⁴

Perhaps after the paddy bird, or egret.

Paddy · proper noun, noun⁵

From Irish Pád(raig) (“Patrick”) + English -y.

First known use, by meaning

• from 17th c. Rough or unhusked rice, either before it is milled or as a crop to be harvested.
• from 20th c. A paddy field, a rice paddy; an irrigated or flooded field where rice is grown.