paddy

noun, plural pad·dies.

1. a rice field.
2. rice, especially in the husk, either uncut or gathered.

noun, plural Pad·dies.

1. Slang: Often Offensive. an Irishman or a person of Irish descent.
2. a male given name.

noun plural -dies

1. Also called: paddy field a field planted with rice
2. rice as a growing crop or when harvested but not yet milled

noun plural -dies

1. British informal a fit of temper

noun plural -dies

1. (sometimes not capital) an informal, often derogatory, name for an Irishman

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. 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.”