Patty and paddy are commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words patty and paddy, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.
A patty is something formed into a flat, small cake. The word patty is most often used when describing food, such as a meat patty or a peppermint candy patty. Patty is also used to describe a flat unit of excrement from a cow or buffalo. When capitalized, as in Patty, it is the nickname for the female names Patricia or Patience. The word patty is derived from the French word pâté, because the English word, patty, originally referred to a pie baked in a small pan. The plural form is patties.
A paddy is a rice field. The plural is paddies. Rice paddies must have standing water to produce a crop, unlike most grains. When capitalized, Paddy is a nickname for Padraig. The word paddy is derived from padi, the Austronesian word for rice in the straw.
Examples
For 19.50 euros ($23) plus an Uber Eats delivery fee, the Waldorf Signature burger comes with a 240-gram Holstein-Frisian meat patty and is served with English Duke of Berkshire bacon on a French brioche bun and aged Dutch cheese and homemade relish. (Reuters)
Student Council President Parth Patel, who won $500 in the “Cow Patty Bingo” contest that the Seminole County Athletic Booster Club sponsored earlier in the month, donated his prize money to feed the participants. (Donalsonville News)
The State government assured farmers that it would procure the discoloured paddy exposed to the recent unseasonal rains. (Hans India)
“At least 200 cusecs of irrigation water should be diverted from the eastern delta to the central delta as 15% of paddy harvesting has been completed in the eastern delta.” (The Hindu)