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paddock

 - 5 dictionary results

pad⋅dock

1[pad-uhk]
–noun
1. a small, usually enclosed field near a stable or barn for pasturing or exercising animals.
2. the enclosure in which horses are saddled and mounted before a race.
3. Australian. any enclosed field or pasture.
–verb (used with object)
4. to confine or enclose in or as in a paddock.

Origin:
1540–50; var. of ME parrok, with r heard as flapped d; OE pearroc enclosure, orig. fence. See park

pad⋅dock

2[pad-uhk]
–noun
Archaic. a frog or toad.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME paddok(e), deriv. of early ME pad toad (cf. E dial. pad frog); akin to D, LG pad, ON padda; see -ock
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pad·dock   (pād'ək)   
n.  
  1. A fenced area, usually near a stable, used chiefly for grazing horses.

  2. Sports

    1. An enclosure at a racetrack where the horses are assembled, saddled, and paraded before each race.

    2. An area of an automobile racetrack where cars are prepared before a race.

  3. Australian A piece of fenced-in land.

tr.v.   pad·docked, pad·dock·ing, pad·docks
To confine in a paddock.

[Alteration of Middle English parrok, from Old English pearroc.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

paddock  (1)
"a frog, a toad," c.1300, dim. of pad "toad," from O.N. padda; common Gmc. (cf. Swed. padda, Dan. padde, O.Fris., M.Du. padde "frog, toad," also Du. schildpad "tortoise"), of unknown origin and with no certain cognates outside Gmc.

paddock  (2)
"an enclosure," 1622, alteration of M.E. parrock, from O.E. pearroc "enclosed space, fence" (see park). Or possibly from M.L. parricus (8c.), which is ult. from Gmc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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