padawan

padawan

English

WOTD – 4 May 2018

Etymology

A boy dressed as a padawan (sense 1) at the Générations Star Wars et Science Fiction fan convention in Cusset, Allier, France, in May 2014

Coined by American filmmaker George Lucas as early as 1973 (in the manuscript Journal of the Whills, where it was spelled padawaan), but not used in his Star Wars film franchise until Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace[1] which premiered on 16 May 1999.[2] The origin is unclear; suggestions include a derivation from Sanskrit पदवी (padavī) or Padawan, Sarawak.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpædəˌwɒn/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: pădʹə-wän', IPA^(key): /ˈpædəˌwɑn/
• Hyphenation: pa‧da‧wan

Noun

padawan (plural padawans)

1. An apprentice or student Jedi.
   • 2005, Judith Barad, “The Aspiring Jedi’s Handbook of Virtue”, in Kevin S. Decker and Jason T. Eberl, editors, Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine (Popular Culture and Philosophy; 12), Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing Company, →ISBN:

     Just as Plato requires a training program that combines physical and mental skills, so does Yoda. The training you'll receive will probably be similar to the training young Luke Skywalker receives from Yoda, since you're probably nearer his age than younger padawans. Throughout his training, Luke questions Yoda about good and evil, the Force, and other concepts important to a Jedi. Likewise, Plato's Republic features a question-and-answer interplay between teacher and students as Socrates's "padawans" question him about justice and injustice, the nature of the Good, and the ideal government.

   • 2015, R. J. Palacio, “FaceChat”, in Pluto: A Wonder Story, New York, N.Y.: Knopf Books for Young Readers, →ISBN:

     Like, practically every day in third grade, Auggie and I would hang out together on FaceChat. We had decided to grow our Padawan braids before I moved away, so it was a great way to check how long they had gotten.

   • 2017, Marnie Riches, Born Bad, London: Avon, →ISBN:

     Her underlings flanked her, like Padawans studying beneath some great Jedi.

2. (by extension, humorous) Any apprentice or student.
   • 2001, Joseph P. Russell, Java Programming for the Absolute Beginner (For the Absolute Beginner series), Roseville, Calif.: Prima Tech, →ISBN, page 57:

     It is impossible for you to create this application using only the techniques you learned in the first two chapters, so read on young padawan!

   • 2005 November, Tom [Thomas A.] Limoncelli, “Automation”, in Mike Loukides and David Brickner, editor, Time Management for System Administrator, Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 160:

     The root of your problem is just that, young padawan. Hmmm?

   • 2009, Len Evans, “When You’re Fired”, in Tim Baker, editor, The Youth Worker Book of Hope: True Stories of Brokenness and Healing (Youth Specialities), Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, →ISBN, page 71:

     A long, long time ago in a church far, far away, as a padawan youth pastor, I had a utopian view of what it'd be like to work in youth ministry. When I began my first youth ministry job, I half expected we'd sing "Kum-Bah-Yah" when we closed our staff meetings.

   • 2010 September 5, Mike Tanier, “The Fifth Down; new trends, new season”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 20 January 2018:

     The off-season brought quarterback turnover, with Kurt Warner retiring and stalwarts like Donovan McNabb and Jake Delhomme changing teams. These veterans were not replaced by veterans or free agents, but by homegrown understudies, throwbacks to the days when Craig Morton spent four seasons behind Don Meredith in (depending on your point of view) apprenticeship or indentured servitude. The first of the padawan has already flopped. Matt Leinart appears to have once again returned a gift-wrapped starting job in Arizona.

Translations

apprentice or student Jedi

Esperanto: padavano French: padawan (fr) m or f Japanese: パダワン (padawan) Korean: 파다원 (padawon) Russian: падава́н (ru) m (padaván)

any apprentice or student — see apprentice,‎ student

References

1. George Lucas (6 June 1997), “The Beginning (The Phantom Menace)—Revised Third Draft”, in Starkiller‎, retrieved 26 April 2019: “OBI-WAN [KENOBI]: ‘Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future …’ QUI-GON [JINN]: ‘… but not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the living Force, my young Padawan.’”
2. “Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace (1999): Release Info”, in IMDb‎, accessed 26 April 2019.

• “What Does Padawan Mean? [Fictional Characters]”, in Dictionary.com‎, accessed 28 December 2019

Further reading

• Padawan (Star Wars) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Spanish

Noun

padawan m (plural padawans or padawan)

1. padawan