Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. the hand.

1944

‘Jiver’s Bible’ in D. Burley Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive.

2. a foot.

1843		T. Haliburton Sam Slick in England II 255: She gets a new hold, and then crawls backward [...] by backin’ of her paddles for the matter of half an hour.
1846		Swell’s Night Guide 73: The ‘Shallow Cove,’ and the ‘Scran coppee,’ kept up a patter, [and] after they had tightened their tripes, they put steam in their paddles, and steered their way for the coast of Kent .
1859		Wkly Varieties (Boston, MA) 3 Sept. 5/1: [of a racehorse] Flo’ dashed away, making her paddles go like drumsticks.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 21 Nov. 2/4: He walked wide, as if accustomed to accommodating a draught horse between his knees, and he put his heel down first, afterwards hitting the pavement a resounding slap with the flat of his paddle.
1966		(con. 1958) R. Farina Been Down So Long (1972) 40: He stared down at his great paddles, the ankles jutting out absurdly.

3. (US black) the penis.

c.1952

W. Harris [song title] Keep on churnin’ till the butter comes, / Keep on pumpin’, make the butter flow / Wipe off the paddle and churn some more.