paddy

1 of 2

noun (1)

pad·​dy ˈpa-dē 

variants or less commonly padi

plural paddies also padis

1

: rice

especially : threshed unmilled rice

2

: wet land in which rice is grown

Paddy

2 of 2

noun (2)

Pad·​dy ˈpa-dē 

plural Paddies

slang, often disparaging + offensive

: irishman

Examples of paddy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While elephant grass and waste from sugarcane might be used in South America, wheat straw and maize could be used in parts of the U.S., and leftover paddy straw from rice fields in India. —Juergen Eckhardt, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024

The city battles toxic air every winter, and authorities say much of the smoke comes from farmers illegally burning paddy stubble to clear their fields in the neighboring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana. —Reuters, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2024

Removing methane, a shorter lived but far more potent greenhouse gas produced by rice paddies and oil wells, is more like finding specks of dust on the head of a needle in the hay. —Bywarren Cornwall, science.org, 2 Oct. 2024

Growing the fern in rice paddies and grinding it into the soil increases rice production without the need for artificial nitrogen fertilizers. —Nina Foster, JSTOR Daily, 22 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Malay padi

Noun (2)

from Paddy, Hiberno-English nickname for Patrick

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1714, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

paddy

noun

pad·​dy ˈpad-ē 

plural paddies

: wet land in which rice is grown