What is "paddle"

Paddle \Pad"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Paddled; p. pr. & vb. n. Paddling]

1. To pat or stroke amorously, or gently. [Obsolescent]

   To be paddling palms and pinching fingers.
   --Shak.

2. To propel with, or as with, a paddle or paddles.

3. To pad; to tread upon; to trample. [Prov. Eng.]

4. To spank with a paddle or as if with a paddle; -- usually as a disciplinary punishment of children.

5. To mix (a viscous liquid) by stirring or beating with a paddle.

Paddle \Pad"dle\, v. i. [Prob. for pattle, and a dim. of pat, v.; cf. also E. pad to tread, Prov. G. paddeln, padden, to walk with short steps, to paddle, G. patschen to splash, dash, dabble, F. patouiller to dabble, splash, fr. patte a paw. [root]2

1. ] 1. To use the hands or fingers in toying; to make caressing strokes. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

2. To dabble in water with hands or feet; to use a paddle, or something which serves as a paddle, in swimming, in paddling a boat, etc.

   As the men were paddling for their lives.
   --L'Estrange.

   While paddling ducks the standing lake desire.
   --Gay.

Paddle \Pad"dle\, n. [See Paddle, v. i.]

1. An implement with a broad blade, which is used without a fixed fulcrum in propelling and steering canoes and boats.

2. The broad part of a paddle, with which the stroke is made; hence, any short, broad blade, resembling that of a paddle, such as that used in table tennis.

   Thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon.
   --Deut. xxiii. 1

3. 3. One of the broad boards, or floats, at the circumference of a water wheel, or paddle wheel.

4. A small gate in sluices or lock gates to admit or let off water; -- also called clough.

5. (Zo["o]l.) A paddle-shaped foot, as of the sea turtle.

6. A paddle-shaped implement for stirring or mixing.

7. [In this sense prob. for older spaddle, a dim. of spade.] See Paddle staff (b), below. [Prov. Eng.] Paddle beam (Shipbuilding), one of two large timbers supporting the spring beam and paddle box of a steam vessel. Paddle board. See Paddle, n., 3. Paddle shaft, the revolving shaft which carries the paddle wheel of a steam vessel. Paddle staff.

   1. A staff tipped with a broad blade, used by mole catchers. [Prov. Eng.]

   2. A long-handled spade used to clean a plowshare; -- called also plow staff. [Prov. Eng.]

      Paddle steamer, a steam vessel propelled by paddle wheels, in distinction from a screw propeller.

      Paddle wheel, the propelling wheel of a steam vessel, having paddles (or floats) on its circumference, and revolving in a vertical plane parallel to the vessel's length.

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.)).\n

\nMeaning "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.

"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)).

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

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

Etymology 1 n. 1 A two-handed, single-bladed oar used to propel a canoe or a small boat. 2 A double-bladed oar used for kayaking. 3 Time spent on paddling. 4 A slat of a paddleboat's wheel. 5 A paddlewheel. 6 A blade of a waterwheel. 7 (context video games dated English) A game controller with a round wheel used to control player movement along one axis of the video screen. 8 (context British English) A meandering walk or dabble through shallow water, especially at the seaside. 9 A kitchen utensil shaped like a '''paddle''' and used for mixing, beating etc. 10 A bat-shaped spanking implement 11 A ping-pong bat. 12 A flat limb of an aquatic animal, adapted for swimming. 13 In a sluice, a panel that controls the flow of water. 14 A group of inerts 15 A handheld defibrillation/cardioversion electrode vb. 1 (context transitive English) To propel something through water with a paddle, oar, hands, etc. 2 (context intransitive English) To row a boat with less than one's full capacity. 3 (context transitive English) To spank with a paddle. 4 To pat or stroke amorously or gently. 5 To tread upon; to trample. Etymology 2

vb. 1 (context intransitive British English) To walk or dabble playfully in shallow water, especially at the seaside. 2 To toddle 3 (context archaic intransitive English) To toy or caress using hands or fingers

1. n. small wooden bat with a flat surface; used for hitting balls in various games

2. a blade of a paddle wheel or water wheel

3. an instrument of punishment consisting of a flat board

4. a short light oar used without an oarlock to propel a canoe or small boat [syn: boat paddle]

1. v. propel with a paddle; "paddle your own canoe"

2. play in or as if in water, as of small children [syn: dabble, splash around]

3. swim like a dog in shallow water

4. walk unsteadily; "small children toddle" [syn: toddle, coggle, totter, dodder, waddle]

5. give a spanking to; subject to a spanking [syn: spank, larrup]

6. stir with a paddle

A paddle is a tool used for pushing against liquids, either as a form of propulsion in a boat or as an implement for mixing.

A paddle is a game controller with a round wheel and one or more fire buttons, where the wheel is typically used to control movement of the player object along one axis of the video screen. A paddle controller rotates through a fixed arc (usually about 330 degrees); it has a stop at each end.

A spanking paddle is an implement used to strike a person on the buttocks. The act of spanking a person with a paddle is known as "paddling". A paddling may be for punishment (normally of a student at school in the United States), or as an initiation or hazing ritual, or for erotic purposes.

A paddle has two parts: a handle and a blade. Most paddles are designed to be held with one hand, but a giant paddle may be designed to be held with two hands. The blade is typically 3 to wide, 1/4-inch thick, and 1 to in length.

In the great majority of cases, the paddle is aimed at the recipient's buttocks; rarely, the back of the thighs might also be targeted.

Paddles for use in schools are made of wood, or occasionally plastic. Paddles used for school punishments may be roughly hewn from commonly available wood. Occasionally, paddles may have holes drilled into them, so there is less air drag when the paddle approaches the buttocks, and produces more sting. The paddles used for fraternity and sorority initiation ceremonies are often professionally made and engraved with organizational symbols and slogans.

A paddle is an implement for mixing or pushing against liquids, typically in order to propel a boat.

Paddle or Paddling may also refer to:

• Paddle (game controller), a computer/video game controller
• Ping-pong paddle, the "racquet" in table tennis
• Dog paddle, a simple swimming stroke
• Paddle tennis, similar to tennis, but with key differences
• Paddle (spanking), a paddle used to spank the buttocks as corporal punishment
• Paddling pool, shallow swimming pool for toddlers and infants
• Hand paddle, a device used in swimming to enhance arm strength
• Traffic paddle, a device used by the police in some countries for traffic control
• An aircraft part for thrust vectoring
• "Paddles", the parts of a manual external defibrillator that delivers a shock to a patient's heart in case of cardiac arrhythmia.
• Paddles, or wickets, valves to regulate flow of water into and out of canal lock chambers.
• Paddles (Pillow Pal), a Pillow Pal platypus made by Ty, Inc.
• Paddles, a nickname for New Zealand cricketer Richard Hadlee
• Paddles, the callsign of the Landing Signal Officer on a US Navy Aircraft Carrier
• Paddles (sex club), a sex club in New York, N.Y.

Paddling may also refer to:

• Watercraft paddling, the act of propelling a boat using the motion of a paddle in the water
  • Canoeing, paddling a canoe
• Flaying