noun a person who tills ; farmer. a person or thing that tills ; cultivator. Origin of tiller 1 First recorded in
1200–50, tiller is from the
Middle English word
tiliere. See
till2 ,
-er1 noun Nautical a bar or lever fitted to the head of a rudder, for turning the rudder in steering.
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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 forms till·er·less , adjective noun a plant shoot that springs from the root or bottom of the original stalk.
a sapling.
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verb (used without object) (of a plant) to put forth new shoots from the root or around the bottom of the original stalk.
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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
Related Words for tiller wheel ,
rancher ,
peasant ,
laborer ,
producer ,
grower ,
knob ,
shaft ,
stem ,
tender ,
reaper ,
gardener ,
agriculturist ,
clodhopper ,
horticulturist ,
villein ,
homesteader ,
gleaner ,
feeder ,
planter Examples from the Web for tiller Contemporary Examples of tiller Today the Moomin industry sails merrily along without her restraining hand on the tiller .
After Tiller is largely devoid of politicking, instead choosing to simply follow the four doctors about their business.
Their ineptitude required the seaman to abandon his post at the tiller and man an oar himself.
Tiller , for example, was frequently derided on The O'Reilly Factor.
But what exactly did O'Reilly say about Tiller , and in what context?
Historical Examples of tiller Then he remembered the look on his master's face as he stood at the tiller .
In silence the man unshipped the tiller and moved toward the cleats.
Calculating the instant to a nicety, he paid off the sheet and pulled up the tiller .
Wake up Dick there, and let him take his turn at the tiller .
The bar or lever that is fixed to the top of the rudder-post is called a tiller .
British Dictionary definitions for tiller noun nautical a handle fixed to the top of a rudderpost to serve as a lever in steering it
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Derived Forms tillerless , adjective Word Origin for tiller C14: from Anglo-French teiler beam of a loom, from Medieval Latin tēlārium, from Latin tēla web
noun a shoot that arises from the base of the stem in grasses
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verb (intr) (of a plant) to produce tillers
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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
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Word Origin and History for 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
