# papa

> English word · Noun · IPA /pəˈpɑː/ · frequency rank #8,181

## Definitions
1. Dad, daddy, father; a familiar or old-fashioned term of address to one’s father.
2. A pet name for one's grandfather.
3. A parish priest in the Greek Orthodox Church.
4. Alternative letter-case form of Papa from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

## Etymology
From French papa, from Middle French papa, from Old French papa, from Latin papa, probably originally a reduplicated imitation of a child's early efforts at vocalising Latin pater (“father”). Compare Ancient Greek πάππας (páppas, “papa, daddy”).

## Easily confused with
- **PP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pp)
- **pay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pay)
- **pop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pop)
- **pat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pat)
- **par** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-par)
- **ppl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-ppl)
- **pup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pup)
- **PGA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pga)
- **pas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pas)
- **pea** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pea)
- **pep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pep)
- **paw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-paw)
- **PSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-psa)
- **PHP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-php)
- **pip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pip)
- **pax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pax)
- **PPP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-ppp)
- **PLA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-pla)
- **PSP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-psp)
- **ppm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/papa-vs-ppm)

## Common misspellings (5)
`appa`, `paap`, `pappa`, `ppaa`, `ppapa`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/papa