1727.—"They have also Store of wild Fowl; but who have a Mind to eat them must shoot them. Flamingoes are large and good Meat. The Paddy-bird is also good in their season."—A. Hamilton, i. 161; [ed. 1744, i. 162-3].
1868.—"The most common bird (in Formosa) was undoubtedly the Padi bird, a species of heron (Ardea prasinosceles), which was constantly flying across the padi, or rice-fields."—Collingwood, Rambles of a Naturalist, 44.
PADDY-FIELD, s. A rice-field, generally in its flooded state.
1759.—"They marched onward in the plain towards Preston's force, who, seeing them coming, halted on the other side of a long morass formed by paddy-fields."—Orme, ed. 1803, iii. 430.
1800.—"There is not a single paddy-field in the whole county, but plenty of cotton ground (see [REGUR]) swamps, which in this wet weather are delightful."—Wellington to Munro, in Despatches, July 3.
1809.—"The whole country was in high cultivation, consequently the paddy-fields were nearly impassable."—Ld. Valentia, i. 350.
PADRE, s. A priest, clergyman, or minister, of the Christian Religion; when applied by natives to their own priests, as it sometimes is when they speak to Europeans, this is only by way of accommodation, as 'church' is also sometimes so used by them.
The word has been taken up from the Portuguese, and was of course applied originally to Roman Catholic priests only. But even in that respect there was a peculiarity in its Indian use among the Portuguese. For P. della Valle (see below) notices it as a singularity of their practice at Goa that they gave the title of Padre to secular priests, whereas in Italy this was reserved to the religiosi or regulars. In Portugal itself, as Bluteau's explanation shows, the use is, or was formerly, the same as in Italy; but, as the first ecclesiastics who went to India were monks, the name apparently became general among the Portuguese there for all priests.
It is a curious example of the vitality of words that this one which had thus already in the 16th century in India a kind of abnormally wide application, has now in that country a still wider, embracing all Christian ministers. It is applied to the Protestant clergy at Madras early in the 18th century. A bishop is known as Lord (see [LAT]) padre. See LAT Sahib.
According to Leland the word is used in China in the form pa-ti-li.