Paddy

Paddy
/pad"ee/, n., pl. Paddies.
1. Slang (often disparaging). an Irishman or a person of Irish descent.
2. a male given name.
[familiar var. of Ir Padraig Patrick; see -Y2]

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also called  Rice Paddy,  

      small, level, flooded field used to cultivate rice in southern and eastern Asia. Wet-rice cultivation is the most prevalent method of farming in the Far East, where it utilizes a small fraction of the total land yet feeds the majority of the rural population. Rice was domesticated as early as 3500 BC, and by about 2,000 years ago it was grown in almost all of the present-day cultivation areas, predominantly deltas, floodplains and coastal plains, and some terraced valley slopes.

      Many paddies are flooded by rivers and rainfall during monsoon season, while others must be irrigated. The paddies have an impermeable subsoil and are bordered by earthen bunds to hold an average of 4–6 inches (10–15 centimetres) of water in the field for three-quarters of the growing season. In all countries, excluding India, paddies are worked by family labour alone and by the same methods as were used 2,000 years ago: hand cultivation with hoe and spade, or water-buffalo-, horse-, or ox-drawn plough with metal share.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
, , , , (in joke or contempt), / (in the husk)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • paddy — paddy …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • PADDY — Même séparé de la paille, le grain de riz, ou paddy (p d 稜 en Malaisie, palay aux Philippines), reste recouvert de glumelles dures et rigides (balles) fortement encastrées les unes dans les autres et que le battage n’a pu éliminer. Pour rendre le …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Paddy — may refer to: *Paddy, a masculine given name, and a common diminutive for Patrick or Pádraig *Paddy, slang (usually derogatory) term in British English for an Irish person *Paddy Whiskey, a brand of Irish whiskey manufactured by The Cork… …   Wikipedia

  • paddy — Ⅰ. paddy [1] ► NOUN (pl. paddies) 1) a field where rice is grown. 2) rice still in the husk. ORIGIN Malay. Ⅱ. paddy [2] ► …   English terms dictionary

  • Paddy — Pad dy, a. [Prov. E. paddy worm eaten.] Low; mean; boorish; vagabond. Such pady persons. Digges (1585). The paddy persons. Motley. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Paddy — Pad dy, n. [Either fr. Canarese bhatta or Malay p[=a]d[=i].] (Bot.) Unhusked rice; commonly so called in the East Indies. [1913 Webster] {Paddy bird}. (Zo[ o]l.) See {Java sparrow}, under {Java}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Paddy — (Päddy), Abkürzung von Patricius, engl. Spitzname der Irländer …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Paddy — (2) Irishman, 1780, slang, from the pet form of the common Irish proper name Patrick (Ir. 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.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • paddy — (1) rice field, 1620s, rice plant, from Malay padi rice in the straw; meaning ground where rice is growing (1948) is a shortening of paddy field …   Etymology dictionary

  • Paddy — Pad dy, n.; pl. {Paddies}. [Corrupted fr. St. Patrick, the tutelar saint of Ireland.] A jocose or contemptuous name for an Irishman; usually considered offensive. [Obsolescent] [1913 Webster +PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Paddy — (spr. Päddi), 1) Abkürzung von Patrik; [551] Spitzname der Irländer in England u. Nordamerika; 2) in Indien der Reiß in den Hülsen …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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