Pronunciations (2)
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/ˈdædi/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
- Received-Pronunciation
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ˈdædi
Noun
Also used as a term of address: a father; one's father.
Usage- childish
- Informal
- usually
- Examples
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By saynt Mary, my lady, / Your mammy and your dady / Brought forth a godely babi!
But unto letters vvas I alvvays ſquinting, / So aſk’d my daddy’s leave to ſtudy Printing; […]
More examples (6)
Says—"Carterhaugh it is mine ain; / My daddie gave it me; / I'll come and gang to Carterhaugh, / And ask nae leave o' thee."— […]
Jane […] could not believe that there was a fault in daddy.
Daddy wouldn't buy me a bow wow! bow wow! / Daddy wouldn't buy me a bow wow! bow wow, / I've got a little cat, / And I'm very fond of that, / But I'd rather have a bow wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
Come to your ould daddie, you lil sandpiper.
Right-o, daddy. I'll come along. When do we go over?
[A]ll families should be positively portrayed in classroom discussions and in books and classroom displays. The goal is for children with a mommy and a daddy and children with two mommies or two daddies to get the clear message that their family is a valued and respected part of the school community.
Often in the form the daddy of: the most important or influential man in a field or group; a doyen.
Usage- broadly
- Informal
Chiefly used as a term of address: a man who is not one's father, often but not necessarily older than oneself.
Usage- broadly
- Dated
- Informal
- Slang
- Examples
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Rock ’n’ roll is cool, daddy, and you know it!
More examples (2)
And yet you can neglect his Suit [for marriage], delay him, make him vvait, and torment him, devvce take ye: If ye like him, vvhy don't ye play above-board; chouſe your Old Daddy, like a good Girl, as ye ought; ſay Yes at his next putting the Queſtion, and let him fall too heartily, novv he has ſo good a Stomach.
"Sal," said Dean, "I have just the girl waiting for you at this very minute—if she's off duty" (looking at his watch). "A waitress, Rita Bettencourt, fine chick, slightly hung-up on a few sexual difficulties which I've tried to straighten up and I think you can manage, you fine gone daddy you.[…]"
Often used as a term of address: a dominant male sexual partner.
Usage- broadly
- Informal
- Examples
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The guy I’ve been dating offered to do bondage with me, and I was like “Yes please, daddy.”
More examples (1)
It wasn't long after this that the very attractive Daddy-type in the harness and cap gave everyone a demonstration in the Sensual Application of Clothespins with yours truly as the model.
An older masculine sexual partner, especially one who is more sexually dominant; specifically, one who prefers younger partners.
Usage- broadly
- Informal
A dominant partner in a homosexual relationship; especially one who provides protection to a more vulnerable inmate.
Usage- broadly
- Informal
A husband; also, a woman's (often older) male lover; (generally) a sexually attractive man; a hunk.
Usage- US usage
- broadly
- Informal
- in early use chiefly African-American Vernacular
- Synonyms
- Examples
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More examples (2)
She looked at me with that familiar desire / Her eyes lit up like they were on fire / She said, "My name's Flo, and you're on the right track, / But look here, daddy, I wear furs on my back, / So if you want to have fun in this man's land, / Let Lincoln and Jackson start shaking hands."
She's crazy 'bout her daddy / Oh, she believes in him / She loves her daddy // She's crazy like a fool / Wild about Daddy Cool / I'm crazy like a fool / Wild about Daddy Cool
Often in the form old daddy: a man or an organization regarded as having the qualities of a father, especially in being in a position of authority, or outdated or paternalistic. Often in the form the daddy of: the most significant of a number of things; a perfect example.
Usage- Figurative
- Informal
- Examples
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the daddy of them all
More examples (1)
He [Norman Mailer] was, though, absolutely the daddy of faction, his novels or journalism reporting every conflict from 1939 to Iraq and biographising Americans including John F[itzgerald] Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali and Neil Armstrong.
Often in the form old daddy: a man or an organization regarded as having the qualities of a father, especially in being in a position of authority, or outdated or paternalistic. A male juvenile delinquent in a reformatory, or a male prisoner in a prison, who dominates other inmates through threats and violence.
Usage- Figurative
- Informal
- Slang
- Examples
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More examples (2)
Throughout Scum various people—prisoners and staff—claim to be ‘in charge’ of, or ‘running’ the borstal. Pongo Banks, the established ‘daddy’, senior officer (SO) Sands—‘I run a wing—right, Carlin?’, the house master, Mr Goodyear and indeed the Governor himself all claim to be in charge. However, what is of interest is that it is clear that the staff have to use the prisoners to run the borstal and thus do not object to, or try to control the inmate subculture that produces ‘daddies’, violence, sexual assault and racism, but rather condone the brutality.
The daddies were the chaps of the old borstal system, leaders who had clawed their way to the top of the borstal food chain by showing gameness and the ability and willingness to inflict serious violence on their fellow detainees. Each wing had a daddy, who would rule, usually with an iron fist, and accept tribute (by way of canteen items and favours done) from other prisoners.
Often in the form old daddy: a man or an organization regarded as having the qualities of a father, especially in being in a position of authority, or outdated or paternalistic. A man who gives away the bride at a wedding, in the absence of her actual father.
Usage- Figurative
- Informal
- Obsolete
- Slang
Often in the form old daddy: a man or an organization regarded as having the qualities of a father, especially in being in a position of authority, or outdated or paternalistic. A man in charge of a casual ward (“the section of a workhouse where itinerants and tramps could be accommodated for one night”), generally an elderly pauper.
Usage- Figurative
- Informal
- Obsolete
- Slang
Often in the form old daddy: a man or an organization regarded as having the qualities of a father, especially in being in a position of authority, or outdated or paternalistic. An accomplice selected to win the prize in a fraudulent lottery or raffle.
Usage- Figurative
- Informal
- Obsolete
- Slang
Often in the form old daddy: a man or an organization regarded as having the qualities of a father, especially in being in a position of authority, or outdated or paternalistic. A stage manager.
Usage- Figurative
- Informal
- Obsolete
- Slang
- Examples
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The stage manager is familiarly termed daddy; and an actor by profession, or a "professional," is called a pro.
Verb
To father (a child); to beget, to sire.
Usage- Appalachia
- Informal
- Transitive
- Examples
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"Just supposin' Mister [a dog] has daddied a pup here and there," said old man Rivers. "What's wrong with that? Ain't your foxhounds han'some and hard-runnin'?"
More examples (2)
Well, it seems that Franklin Ransom had him a girlfriend in nigger holler all along, even when me and him were going out so much together, yes all that whole long time. […] Franklin had daddied two little nigger babies on her, so they say.
[…] Hank [Williams] wrote all those tearjerkers while mourning his own wandering wife, Miss Audrey. Grieving apparently wasn't a full-time job, however, since Hank up and married a gal named Billie Jean [Horton] and daddied a daughter by yet another consoler.
Adjective
Characteristic of or resembling a dad or father.
Usage- Informal
- Uncommon
- in the superlative
- Synonyms
- Examples
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[…] Daddy looked at himself more these days, as if to catch himself fading away—though in Junior's eyes he was only growing Daddier.
More examples (6)
Taking stock of our muddles gives us permission to look up and see the God-Man [Jesus] in his eternal sacrifice for all of us, for those two young, irresponsible girls and for this "Dad" who is only likely to get daddier as he goes along.
In 1989, Hollywood brought us Field of Dreams, one of the daddiest dad movies ever. Kevin Costner plays a New Age dad whose relationship with his remote, old-school father had been difficult at best.
Stark flinched and fired, and he wished, instead, that he'd held the revolver in the kid's face, telling the frightened boy to drop his rifle in the loudest, deepest, daddiest voice he could muster.
Curiously, many of the younger dads were more comfortable saying that they listen to dad rock, while older dads were more defensive about it, despite pledging allegiance to some of the daddiest classic rock dinosaurs in the history of dads.
"But I'm bored." / He chucked her on the chin. "It builds character." / "Ghod," Valentine huffed. "That is the daddiest thing you could say ever. Don't listen to him, Aliyah, all boredom ever builds is naps."
The only music we had besides the radio were three songs Jordan had downloaded to his phone: Billy Joel's "Vienna," Bob Seger’s "We've Got Tonight,"^([sic – meaning We've Got Tonite]) and Bad Company's "Bad Company"—the daddiest of all dad rock, but our only reprieve during the long stretches of static.
He's the daddiest dad I've ever had.
Noun
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
- Broader terms