means A long pole with a flat blade at one end, used to row or steer a boat by pushing against the water.

from From Old English 'ar,' the word has stayed remarkably steady through the centuries — a cousin to Old Norse 'ar,' as you'd expect from seafaring peoples who shared both boats and vocabulary. It's likely rooted in an old Indo-European notion of moving or rowing, the same deep current that surfaces in Latin 'remus' and Greek 'eretmon.' A short, hardworking word for a long, hardworking tool.