tiller

1
[ til-er ]
/ ˈtɪl ər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR tiller ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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Origin of tiller

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

Words nearby tiller

till the cows come home, tillable, tillage, tillamook bay, tillandsia, tiller, tillerman, tilley, tillich, tillicum, tillite

Definition for tiller (2 of 3)

tiller2
[ 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

OTHER WORDS FROM tiller

till·er·less, adjective

Definition for tiller (3 of 3)

tiller3
[ 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. 2020

Words related to tiller

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

Example sentences from the Web for tiller

British Dictionary definitions for tiller (1 of 2)

tiller1
/ (ˈtɪlə) /

noun

nautical a handle fixed to the top of a rudderpost to serve as a lever in steering it

Derived forms of tiller

tillerless, 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)

tiller2
/ (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