pap

pap · noun, verb¹

1. Middle English · inherited frompap
2. English todaypap

From Middle English pap. Related to Middle Low German pappe, Dutch pap, German Pappe (“pap, porridge; wheatpaste; cardboard”), Old French papa/pape, Latin pappa, Bulgarian папам (papam, “to eat”) and Serbo-Croatian папати/papati (“to eat”), among others. The relationships between these words are difficult to reconstruct. The Germanic word is either a borrowing from Latin or, perhaps more probably, an independent formation in baby-talk.

pap · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pap-“pock mark, nipple”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*pap-“nipple”
3. Latin · derived frompapilla
4. Middle English · derived frompappe
5. English todaypap

From Middle English pappe, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Latin papilla; or perhaps compare Old Swedish papp (“breast, nipple”), from Proto-Germanic *pap- (“nipple”), of imitative origin, or from Proto-Indo-European *pap- (“pock mark, nipple”); Swedish dialectal papp, pappe, Swedish patt, Danish patte, North Frisian pap, pape, papke (“breast, pap”).

pap · noun³

Ellipsis of Pap smear.

pap · adjective⁴

1. Afrikaans · borrowed frompap“porridge”
2. English todaypap

From Afrikaans pap (“porridge”). Cognate with etymology 1.

pap · noun, verb⁵

Clipping of paparazzo.

pap · noun⁶

Compare pa, papa, pop.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 13th c. A female breast or nipple.
• from 15th c. A man's breast.