Etymology

pawpaw

paw·paw
P3A1W4P3A1W4

Today it means: Any member of the genus Asimina of trees and shrubs native to eastern North America, especially common pawpaw (Asimina triloba). Full definition →

Spanish papaya ← Lokono papáia ← Yuchi pahpah
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pawpaw · noun1

  1. Yuchi · derived frompahpah
  2. Lokono · derived frompapáia
  3. Spanish · derived frompapaya
  4. English todaypawpaw

Via Portuguese and Spanish papaya from Lokono papáia; compare also Kari'na kapaja. Doublet of papaya. Alternatively from Yuchi pahpah.

pawpaw · noun2

Related to papa, or pa(w) pa(w) (one’s father’s father).

Words from the same roots

Spanishpapaya all →

papaya

Lokonopapáia all →

papaya

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.