🇩🇪German Source WordCode: DE

Schlag

Pronunciation / Transliteration: ʃlaːk

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Paddywhack/ˈpæd.i.wæk/
nounCEFR C2 (Proficient)Top #25000 frequency
Full Thesaurus
🇩🇪 Example Sentence in German:

"Er versetzte dem Ball einen kräftigen Schlag."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A sharp blow or a smart slap.

    "He gave the stubborn door a paddywhack to get it to latch properly."
  2. 2

    The ligamentum nuchae of a sheep or ox, used as animal feed or gristle.

    "The butcher prepared the cut, including the tough paddywhack running along the neck."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term originated in the late 18th or early 19th century, likely formed as an expressive reduplication and rhyming compound combining paddy (a diminutive of the Irish given name Patrick, historically used as an ethnic slur or general term for an Irishman) and whack (a sharp blow). Over time, the term shifted in meaning to refer to a severe blow or thrashing, and later came to denote the nuchal ligament of a sheep or ox, or appeared whimsically in traditional nursery rhymes.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Paddywhack"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Paddywhack"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Paddywhack" Synonym Map