the.com/sculling

means A method of propelling a boat using one or two oars per rower, worked in a figure-eight or side-to-side sculling motion rather than a single pull-and-feather stroke.

from The verb 'scull' traces to Middle English, likely from a root meaning to move with a twisting or shuffling motion — the same loose family that may connect to 'shuffle.' It originally named the oar itself (a 'scull') before the motion took the word as its own; the exact deeper roots are murky, so take any tidy ancient story about it with suspicion.