paddeln

Meaning

1. (weak) to paddle (propel a canoe)
2. (weak) to make floundering or twitchy movements (especially in water); to paddle; to swim clumsily (like a dog); to keep oneself afloat by moving one's arms up and down

Concepts

paddle

canoe

🛶

lap

beat

plash

splash

wade

Synonyms

rudern

skullen

pullen

plätschern

rinnen

baden

Kanu fahren

plantschen

schwimmen

🏊

waten

klatschen

👏

klauen

Translations

peddelen

door het water plassen

ploeteren

barboter

patauger

pagayer

plassen

patinhar

chapotear

chapinhar

andare in canoa

patejar

vadare

paddelen

klotsen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpadəln/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: pedden

Cognate with Old English: pæþþan

Cognate with Old High German: phadōn

In summary

Occasionally since circa 1800 from Low German paddeln (“to scurry, tottle, dabble, splash, twitch”), frequentative of padden, padjen (“to step, scurry, walk in shallow water”). Probably from a variant of Middle Low German pedden (“to tread, tramp”), cognate with Dutch pedden, Old English pæþþan, which are considered derivatives of Proto-Germanic *paþaz (“path”); compare also Old High German phadōn. In this case, English pad (“to travel”) and paddle (“to walk in shallow water”) must be Low German borrowings.
In the late 19th century, the (Low) German word was merged with English paddle (“to propel a canoe”) and spread in the standard language chiefly in this sense, but with certain remnants of the native meaning. English paddle (“kind of oar”) is from a Latin noun, probably influenced by the verb mentioned above. See the lemma.