papa English · revision 15029

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1677}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /pəˈpɑː/, US /ˈpɑː.pə/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|papa]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023) from [[la-lat|pāpa]], a reduplicated child's word,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) like [[grc|πάππας|tr=páppas|t=father]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Father: 1677 in Merriam-Webster, 1681 in the OED, the 1680s in Etymonline.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED, as quoted by Etymonline, says papa was first used in courtly speech as a continental affectation, and was not used by ordinary people until the late 18th century;^(Etymonline) the native word is daddy.^(Etymonline) It was shortened to pa in dialect in the 19th century, and the variant pappa survives in American poppa and pop.^(Hoad 1986) In American slang a papa was a woman's lover or husband (1904).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1677 – papa, father.^(MWU 2024)

+ * late 18th century – in common use.^(Etymonline)

+ * 19th century – pa.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1904 – a lover (US slang).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(old-fashioned, informal)'' [[father|alt=Father]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[grandpapa]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[father]]

+ * [[pa]]

+ * [[pappy]]

+ * [[pater]]

+ * [[paw]]

+ * [[pop]]

+ * [[poppa]]

+ * [[pope]]

+ * [[daddy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Other words spelled papa are separate: the pope (1555) and an Orthodox priest (1591), from Late Latin and Greek words for a priest;^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) a blue-grey clay of New Zealand (1873);^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023) and, in American Spanish, the potato, from Quechua.^(MWU 2024) Papa is also the code word for the letter P.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}