*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of paddy

Borrowed from Malay padi (“paddy plant”). Doublet of palay.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Rough or unhusked rice, either before it is milled or as a crop to be harvested. · A paddy field, a rice paddy; an irrigated or flooded field where rice is grown.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Malay padi (“paddy plant”). Doublet of palay.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionpadims · paddy plant
  • Doublet mentionpalayen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "ms",
        "3": "padi",
        "t": "paddy plant"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Malay padi (“paddy plant”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "palay"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of palay"
    }
  ],
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    ],
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        "Rough or unhusked rice, either before it is milled or as a crop to be harvested.",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

Low; mean; boorish; vagabond.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

English dialect paddy (“worm-eaten”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "Low; mean; boorish; vagabond."
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A fit of temper; a tantrum. · A white person. · A labourer's assistant or workmate. · A drill used in boring wells, with cutters that expand on pressure.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly from Paddy (“Irishman”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
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      "Paddy#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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      "lang": "Krio",
      "lang_code": "kri",
      "word": "pàdí"
    }
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        "A white person.",
        "A labourer's assistant or workmate.",
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

A snowy sheathbill.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Perhaps after the paddy bird, or egret.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for paddy →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cGFkZHk