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paddle1

[pad-l]
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noun
  1. a short, flat bladed oar for propelling and steering a canoe or small boat, usually held by both hands and moved more or less through a vertical arc.
  2. any of various similar implements used for mixing, stirring, or beating.
  3. any of various similar but smaller implements with a short handle for holding in one hand and a wide or rounded blade, used for a racket in table tennis, paddle tennis, etc.
  4. such an implement or a similarly shaped makeshift one, used to spank or beat someone.
  5. an implement used for beating garments while washing them in running water, as in a stream.
  6. Also called float, floatboard. a blade of a paddle wheel.
  7. paddle wheel.
  8. any of the blades by which a water wheel is turned.
  9. a flipper or limb of a penguin, turtle, whale, etc.
  10. an act of paddling.
  11. Also pattle. British Dialect. a small spade with a long handle, used to dig up thistles.
  12. (in a gate of a lock or sluice) a panel that slides to permit the passage of water.
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verb (used without object), pad·dled, pad·dling.
  1. to propel or travel in a canoe or the like by using a paddle.
  2. to row lightly or gently with oars.
  3. to move by means of paddle wheels, as a steamer.
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verb (used with object), pad·dled, pad·dling.
  1. to propel with a paddle: to paddle a canoe.
  2. to spank or beat with or as with a paddle.
  3. to stir, mix, or beat with or as with a paddle
  4. to convey by paddling, as a canoe.
  5. to hit (a table-tennis ball or the like) with a paddle.
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Idioms
  1. paddle one's own canoe. canoe(def 6).
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Origin of paddle1

1375–1425; late Middle English padell (noun)
Related formspad·dler, noun

paddle2

[pad-l]
verb (used without object), pad·dled, pad·dling.
  1. to move the feet or hands playfully in shallow water; dabble.
  2. to toy with the fingers.
  3. to toddle.
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Origin of paddle2

First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain
Related formspad·dler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

oarwadesplashdriftslopnavigatepullsweeppolepropellersculldrivecruisethrashstirboatrow

Examples from the Web for paddle

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It was laid by the Monarch, a paddle steamer which had been fitted for the work.

  • Neither of them spoke, and the only sound was the swishing of the paddle.

    The Rock of Chickamauga

    Joseph A. Altsheler

  • Then, setting the canoe into the water, he began to paddle back.

  • "One of us might paddle the canoe to the foot of the cliff," went on Frank.

  • Then, without a word, they resumed their steady, easy swing of the paddle.

British Dictionary definitions for paddle

paddle1

noun
  1. a short light oar with a flat blade at one or both ends, used without a rowlock to propel a canoe or small boat
  2. Also called: float a blade of a water wheel or paddle wheel
  3. a period of paddlingto go for a paddle upstream
    1. a paddle wheel used to propel a boat
    2. (as modifier)a paddle steamer
  5. the sliding panel in a lock or sluicegate that regulates the level or flow of water
  6. any of various instruments shaped like a paddle and used for beating, mixing, etc
  7. a table-tennis bat
  8. the flattened limb of a seal, turtle, or similar aquatic animal, specialized for swimming
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verb
  1. to propel (a canoe, small boat, etc) with a paddle
  2. paddle one's own canoe
    1. to be self-sufficient
    2. to mind one's own business
  3. (tr) to convey by paddlingwe paddled him to the shore
  4. (tr) to stir or mix with or as if with a paddle
  5. to row (a boat) steadily, esp (of a racing crew) to row firmly but not at full pressure
  6. (intr) (of steamships) to be propelled by paddle wheels
  7. (intr) to swim with short rapid strokes, like a dog
  8. (tr) US and Canadian informal to spank
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Derived Formspaddler, noun

Word Origin

C15: of unknown origin

paddle2

verb (mainly intr)
  1. to walk or play barefoot in shallow water, mud, etc
  2. to dabble the fingers, hands, or feet in water
  3. to walk unsteadily, like a baby
  4. (tr) archaic to fondle with the fingers
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noun
  1. the act of paddling in water
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Derived Formspaddler, noun

Word Origin

C16: of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for paddle

n.

c.1400, padell "small spade," from Medieval Latin padela, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin patella "small pan, little dish, plate," diminutive of patina (see pan (n.)).

Meaning "short oar with a wide blade" is from 1620s. As an instrument used for beating clothes (and slaves, and schoolboys), it is recorded from 1828, American English. Paddle-ball attested from 1935.

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v.1

"to dabble, wade in water," 1520s, probably cognate with Low German paddeln "tramp about," frequentative of padjen "to tramp, to run in short steps," from pad (v.). Related: Paddled; paddling. Meaning "to move in water by means of paddles" is a different word (see paddle (v.3)).

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v.2

"to beat with a paddle, spank," 1856, from paddle (n.). Related: Paddled; paddling.

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v.3

"to move in water by means of paddles," 1670s, from paddle (n.). To paddle one's (own) canoe "do for oneself" is from 1828.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with paddle

paddle

In addition to the idiom beginning with paddle

  • paddle one's own canoe

also see:

  • up the creek (without a paddle)
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.