tiller

1
[ til-er ]
See synonyms for tiller on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who tills; farmer.

  2. a person or thing that tills; cultivator.

Origin of tiller

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tiller(e), tiliere; see origin at till2, -er1

Other definitions for tiller (2 of 3)

tiller2
[ til-er ]

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

Origin of tiller

2
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English teler, telor, tiler(e) “the stock of a crossbow or firearm; tiller (for a boat),” from Old French telier, teiler “weaver's beam,” from Medieval Latin tēlārium, equivalent to Latin tēl(a) “cloth being woven on a loom; loom; plan, design” + -ārium -ary

Other words from tiller

  • till·er·less, adjective

Other definitions for tiller (3 of 3)

tiller3
[ til-er ]

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

  2. a sapling.

verb (used without object)
  1. (of a plant) to put forth new shoots from the root or around the bottom of the original stalk.

Origin of tiller

3
First recorded before 1000; Old English telgor, tealgor “twig, shoot,” (not recorded in Middle English ); akin to Old English telga “branch, bough,” Old Norse tjalga “twig, branch,” Dutch telg

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tiller in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tiller (1 of 2)

tiller1

/ (ˈtɪlə) /


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

Origin of tiller

1
C14: from Anglo-French teiler beam of a loom, from Medieval Latin tēlārium, from Latin tēla web

Derived forms of tiller

  • tillerless, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for tiller (2 of 2)

tiller2

/ (ˈtɪlə) /


noun
  1. a shoot that arises from the base of the stem in grasses

  2. a less common name for sapling

verb
  1. (intr) (of a plant) to produce tillers

Origin of tiller

2
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