An informal word for father or dad, often used affectionately or regionally.
From reduplication of 'pa' (father), similar to how 'mama' came from 'ma.' Possibly influenced by 'pap' meaning soft food (what you feed babies). The word is primarily American and Southern regional dialect since the 1700s.
The word 'pappy' reveals how humans create baby-talk words—we tend to use repeated syllables and simple sounds, and this happens independently across languages. The word is so identified with the American South that it appears constantly in folk songs and regional literature.
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