society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > propulsion machinery > [noun] > paddle-wheel > shaft of
1815 R. Dickinson (1855) 2 A small pinnion on the paddle shaft.
1999 (Nexis) 28 Apr. b2 Horses or mules provided the power through tread wheels geared to paddle shafts. In 1810, the first steam-driven boat appeared.