noun

1. a relatively short pole with a broad blade at one end or sometimes both ends, held in the hands and used to propel and steer a canoe, kayak, etc.
2. any of various implements shaped like this; specif.,
   1. a metal tool for stirring iron in a furnace
   2. a small, flat, wooden instrument for working butter, stirring clay, etc.
   3. ☆ a flat stick used for beating clothes in washing them by hand, as in a stream
   4. a flat, wooden stick for administering punishment by beating
   5. ☆ a flat, rounded piece of wood with a short handle, used to hit a ball, as in table tennis
3. any of the propelling boards in a water wheel or paddle wheel

Etymology: ME padell, small spade < ?

intransitive verb paddled -·dled, paddling -·dling

transitive verb

1. to propel (a canoe, etc.) by means of a paddle or paddles
2. to punish by beating as with a paddle; spank
3. to stir, work, etc. with a paddle