Etymology

papa

pa·pa
P3A1P3A1

Today it means: Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father. Full definition →

French papa ← Middle French papa
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The story

  1. Middle Frenchpapa
  2. Frenchpapa
  3. English todaypapa

From French papa, from Middle French papa, from Old French papa, from Latin papa, probably originally a reduplicated imitation of a child's early efforts at vocalising Latin pater (“father”). Compare Ancient Greek πάππας (páppas, “papa, daddy”).

Words from the same roots

Latinpapa all →

papa-papaphiliapapaphobiapaparchy

Latinpater all →

padrepaterpaternosterpatristicspaterfamiliaspatroclinouspère

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.