English▸ verb [no object] walk with bare feet in shallow water:
the children paddled at the water's edge.
▪ dabble the feet or hands in water:
Peter paddled idly in the water with his fingers.
▸ noun [in singular] mainly British English an act of walking with bare feet in shallow water:
I went for a paddle.
– ORIGIN mid 16th century: of obscure origin; compare with Low German paddeln ‘tramp about’; the association with water remains unexplained.