According to the OED, the word can mean an Irishman (earliest quot. 1811), an unlicensed almanac (1886), a rage (1899), a severe thrashing (1898), or a ruddy duck (North Carolina, 19th c.).

It might be noted that most Americans pronounce "paddy" and "patty" the same: t between vowels gets voiced, as in Spanish. (Sounds vulgar to me, but never mind.) So the spelling, over a large swath the U.S., would be arbitrary.

--- Joe Fineman    joe_f@verizon.net

||: Our memories may go back to the time we were fools, but not to the fact. :||