pap1

 
Pronunciation: /pap/

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1bland soft or semi-liquid food such as that suitable for babies or invalids: a trayful of tasteless pap
  • (in Africa and the Caribbean) porridge, usually made with maize meal.
  • 2worthless or trivial reading matter or entertainment: limitless channels serving up an undemanding diet of pap

adjective

South African
  • (of food) lacking flavour and firmness: the apple is so pap I won’t eat it
  • (of a person) lacking physical or emotional strength; feeble: this flu makes people feel pap
  • (of an inflatable object) under-inflated; flat: my wheel was pap so I had to push the bike home

Origin:

late Middle English: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch pappe, probably based on Latin pappare 'eat'