paddle wheel

paddle wheel
paddle-wheel, adj.
a wheel for propelling a ship, having a number of paddles entering the water more or less perpendicularly.
[1675-85]

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▪ ship part
 method of ship propulsion that was once widely employed but is now almost entirely superseded by the screw propeller. Early experiments with steam-driven paddles acting as oars led several inventors, including Robert Fulton, to mount the paddles in a wheel form, either at the stern or at the sides of the vessel.

      The device is highly efficient and is competitive even with modern propellers; it was supplanted by the latter because of the paddle wheel's vulnerability to damage in storms and its emergence from the water when the ship rolled heavily, which made steering difficult. For inland navigation these defects were insignificant, and paddle-wheel steamers long continued to operate on many rivers.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Paddle wheel — Paddle Pad dle, n. [See {Paddle}, v. i.] 1. An implement with a broad blade, which is used without a fixed fulcrum in propelling and steering canoes and boats. [1913 Webster] 2. The broad part of a paddle, with which the stroke is made; hence,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • paddle-wheel — (n.) also paddlewheel, 1805, from PADDLE (Cf. paddle) (n.) + WHEEL (Cf. wheel) (n.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • paddle wheel — ► NOUN ▪ a large steam driven wheel with paddles round its circumference, attached to the side or stern of a ship and propelling the ship by its rotation …   English terms dictionary

  • paddle wheel — n. a wheel with paddles set at right angles about its circumference for propelling a steamboat …   English World dictionary

  • Paddle wheel — A paddle wheel (also called side wheel or stern wheel) is a large wheel fitted with paddles which is used to propel a boat. Paddle wheels powered by steam engines were the means of propulsion for the paddle steamers of the nineteenth century when …   Wikipedia

  • paddle-wheel — See paddle wheel. * * * …   Universalium

  • paddle wheel — noun a large wheel fitted with paddles and driven by an engine in order to propel a boat • Syn: ↑paddlewheel • Hypernyms: ↑wheel • Part Meronyms: ↑paddle, ↑paddle box, ↑paddle box * * * noun, pl ⋯ wheels …   Useful english dictionary

  • paddle wheel — noun A large wheel, fitted with paddles, used to propel a vessel (especially a paddle steamer) …   Wiktionary

  • paddle wheel — pad′dle wheel art at paganize n. naut. navig. a wheel for propelling a ship, having a number of paddles entering the water more or less perpendicularly • Etymology: 1675–85 …   From formal English to slang

  • paddle wheel — noun Date: 1685 a wheel with paddles around its circumference used to propel a boat …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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