An informal or affectionate word for father, especially used by children or in casual speech.
From reduplication and baby talk simplification of father sounds. Similar to 'papa' and 'pops,' this informal version emerged from natural linguistic patterns babies develop.
The word 'poppa' is related to 'papa' across dozens of languages—Spanish 'papá,' French 'papa,' Italian 'papà'—because babies naturally repeat syllables, and the 'pa' sound is one of the easiest for infants to make.
Informal gendered address that defaults to masculine authority figure; paired feminine equivalent ('momma') often carries different emotional valence (nurturing vs. disciplinary), reinforcing gendered parental role expectations.
Use person's actual name or neutral parental term when referring to any parent. If informal address needed, use consistently regardless of parent gender.
["parent","dad/mom (actual gender)","person's name","guardian"]
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