- paddle
-
I. intransitive verb
(paddled; paddling)
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1530
1. to move the hands or feet about in shallow water
2. archaic to use the hands or fingers in toying or caressing
3. toddle
• paddler noun
II. noun
Etymology: Middle English padell spade-shaped tool for cleaning a plow
Date: 1624
1.
a. a usually wooden implement that has a long handle and a broad flattened blade and that is used to propel and steer a small craft (as a canoe)
b. an implement often with a short handle and a broad flat blade that is used for stirring, mixing, or hitting; especially one used to hit a ball in any of various games (as table tennis)
c. a small usually numbered sign that is raised by a bidder at an auction to signal a bid
d. a flat electrode that is the part of a defibrillator placed on the chest of a patient and through which a shock of electricity is discharged
2.
a. any of the broad boards at the circumference of a paddle wheel or waterwheel
b. any of the broad blades attached to a shaft (as in an ice cream machine) and used for stirring
3. a computer input device with a dial used to control linear movement of a cursor on a computer display
III. verb
(paddled; paddling)
Date: 1677
intransitive verb
to go on or through water by or as if by means of a paddle or paddle wheel
transitive verb
1.
a. to propel by a paddle
b. to transport in a paddled craft <paddled us to shore in his canoe> 2. a. to beat or stir with or as if with a paddle (as in washing or dyeing) b. to punish by or as if by beating with a paddle • paddler noun
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.