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definitions

tiller

1
[ til-er ]
/ ˈtɪl ər /
|
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noun

a person who tills; farmer.
a person or thing that tills; cultivator.

RELATED WORDS

wheel, rancher, peasant, laborer, producer, grower, knob, shaft, stem, tender, reaper, gardener, agriculturist, clodhopper, horticulturist, villein, homesteader, gleaner, feeder, planter

Nearby words

  1. till the cows come home,
  2. tillable,
  3. tillage,
  4. tillamook bay,
  5. tillandsia,
  6. tillerman,
  7. tilley,
  8. tillich,
  9. tillich, paul johannes,
  10. tillicum

Origin of tiller

1
First recorded in 1200–50, tiller is from the Middle English word tiliere. See till2, -er1

Definition for tiller (2 of 3)

tiller

2
[ til-er ]
/ ˈtɪl ər /

noun Nautical.

a bar or lever fitted to the head of a rudder, for turning the rudder in steering.

Origin of tiller

2
1375–1425; late Middle English < Anglo-French teiler weaver's beam; Old French teilier < Medieval Latin tēlārium, equivalent to Latin tēl(a) warp + -ārium -ary
Related formstill·er·less, adjective

Definition for tiller (3 of 3)

tiller

3
[ til-er ]
/ ˈtɪl ər /

noun

a plant shoot that springs from the root or bottom of the original stalk.
a sapling.

verb (used without object)

(of a plant) to put forth new shoots from the root or around the bottom of the original stalk.

Origin of tiller

3
before 1000; Old English telgor twig, shoot (not recorded in ME); akin to telge rod, Old Norse tjalga branch, telgja to cut
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tiller

British Dictionary definitions for tiller (1 of 2)

tiller

1
/ (ˈtɪlə) /

noun

nautical a handle fixed to the top of a rudderpost to serve as a lever in steering it
Derived Formstillerless, adjective

Word Origin for tiller

C14: from Anglo-French teiler beam of a loom, from Medieval Latin tēlārium, from Latin tēla web

British Dictionary definitions for tiller (2 of 2)

tiller

2
/ (ˈtɪlə) /

noun

a shoot that arises from the base of the stem in grasses
a less common name for sapling

verb

(intr) (of a plant) to produce tillers

Word Origin for tiller

Old English telgor twig; related to Icelandic tjalga branch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tiller

tiller

n.

mid-14c., "stock of a crossbow," from Old French telier "stock of a crossbow" (c.1200), originally "weaver's beam," from Medieval Latin telarium, from Latin tela "web, loom," from PIE *teks-la-, from root *teks- "to weave" (see texture). Meaning "bar to turn the rudder of a boat" first recorded 1620s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper