1. A blade of a paddle wheel or water wheel.
2. A flat board used to administer physical punishment.
3. A short light oar used without an oarlock to propel a canoe or small boat.
4. The racket used in paddle tennis or table tennis.

An early type of input device often used with computer games especially for side-to-side or up-and-down movements of an on-screen object. A paddle is less sophisticated than a joystick because it permits the user, by turning a dial, to specify movement along only a single axis. The paddle got its name because its most popular use was to control the on-screen paddles in the simple early video games, such as Pong. See the illustration.

ETYM Prob. for pattle, and a dim. of pat, v.; cf. also Eng. pad to tread, Prov. German paddeln, padden, to walk with short steps, to paddle, German patschen to splash, dash, dabble, French patouiller to dabble, splash, from patte a paw.
1. To propel with a paddle.
2. To stir with a paddle.
3. To swim like a dog; in shallow water.