paddle
n. countablen. a short pole with a wide, flat end that you use to move a small boat through the water. You hold it with both hands and pull it through the water to go forward.
n. a short pole with a broad blade at one or both ends, used without a rowlock to propel a small craft such as a canoe.
We used a wooden paddle to move the canoe across the lake.
After losing his paddle in the rapids, he had to use his hands to steer the kayak toward the shore.
The rhythmic splash of the paddle against the glass-like surface of the water was the only sound heard during their early morning excursion across the bay.
Partly from the verb paddle ("to splash, dabble"; see below) and partly from Middle English padell (“small spade”). Middle English padell is from Medieval Latin padela, itself of uncertain origin: perhaps an alteration of Middle English *spaddle (see also spaddle), a diminutive of spade; or from Latin patella (“pan, plate”), the diminutive of patina, or a merger of the two. Compare Ancient Greek πηδάλιον (pēdálion, “rudder, steering oar”), derived from πηδόν (pēdón, “the blade of an oar; an oar”).
Recorded since 1530, probably cognate with Low German paddeln (“to tramp about”), frequentative form of padjen (“to tramp, run in short steps”), from pad (also in Dutch dialects). Compare also Saterland Frisian paddelje (“to paddle”).
Often used with the verb 'to use' or 'to lose'; distinct from an 'oar' which is usually attached to the boat.