papa

Everyday

1. (old-fashioned or family word) Father, dad. tree →
2. (in some families) Grandfather, grandad. tree →
3. In the NATO phonetic alphabet, the word for the letter P. tree →
4. (other languages) «Papa» also means dad in French, Italian, Spanish (papá) and many more; in Ukrainian the usual word for dad is «tato». tree →

In the lessons

In older English books and stories, children call their father «Papa». Today in English it is more common in some families, cultures, and for grandfathers (especially in the USA, Canada, Australia). On radios, police and pilots spell P as «Papa». Phrases: «Papa Bear» in Goldilocks.

Examples

• «Goodnight, Papa,» said the girl in the old story. tree →
• Papa Bear's porridge was too hot. tree →
• We call Grandad «Papa». tree →
• P for Papa, Q for Quebec. tree →
• In French, «papa» means dad. tree →
• My friend's papa picks her up from school. tree →
• Papa Smurf is the leader of the Smurfs. tree →
• One thing, however, the papa stork could understand. tree →

Note

Countable. Stress is usually on the second syllable in old British use (pa-PAH), and on the first in the USA (PAH-pa). Similar: pa, pop, dad, daddy. «Papal» and «Pope» come from a related word for father, used for the Pope.