TILLER • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Tiller

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/tˈɪlər/ Listen

noun

Tiller n. One who tills; a husbandman; a cultivator; a plowman.

Tiller n.

(Bot.)

(a)

A shoot of a plant, springing from the root or bottom of the original stalk; a sucker.

(b)

A sprout or young tree that springs from a root or stump.

A young timber tree. (Prov. Eng.)

Tiller n.

(Naut.) A lever of wood or metal fitted to the rudder head and used for turning side to side in steering. In small boats hand power is used; in large vessels, the tiller is moved by means of mechanical appliances.

The stalk, or handle, of a crossbow; also, sometimes, the bow itself. (Obs.) "You can shoot in a tiller."

The handle of anything. (Prov. Eng.)

A small drawer; a till.

Tiller rope (Naut.), a rope for turning a tiller. In a large vessel it forms the connection between the fore end of the tiller and the steering wheel.

verb

Tiller v. i. (past & past part. tillered; pres. part. tillering) (Sometimes written tillow) To put forth new shoots from the root, or round the bottom of the original stalk; as, wheat or rye tillers; some spread plants by tillering.

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Etymology of 'Tiller'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Tiller" Quotes from Famous Books

... fifth Saturday of our cruise, I waited till the changing of the watch; then I stole noiselessly upon deck, and secreted myself behind a life-boat which hung at the side of the vessel. The helmsman was nodding silently upon his tiller; two seamen sat motionless upon the bow, and the lookout party in the crow's-nest talked mutteringly of our ill-luck as they scanned the horizon. The Northern Lights were pulsing like some great radiating heart, and the sea was alternately flame and shadow. ...

— Tales of the Chesapeake • George Alfred Townsend

... there was a vicious and variable wind in their superior's moral atmosphere, under which his canvas strained or flapped unaccountably. They imagined, to pursue their own figure, that his hand did not grasp the reason tiller with its customary grip, and that his bark was left more or less to the conflicting guidance of other influences. Many a time since his departure from England had the old sailor been stung with remorse at the unwritten tenor of his present commission. He ...

— Stories by English Authors: The Sea • Various

... to them, yet there should be no new legislation which would operate to the injury or embarrassment of the large body of respectable artisans and laborers. The mechanic who emigrates to the West and pursues his calling must labor long before he can purchase a quarter section of land, whilst the tiller of the soil who accompanies him obtains a farm at once by the bounty of the Government. The numerous body of mechanics in our large cities can not, even by emigrating to the West, take advantage of the provisions of this bill without entering upon a new occupation ...

— A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - Section 4 (of 4) of Volume 5: James Buchanan • James D. Richardson

... for the oarsmen; but the seat of honour was in the stern of the boat, and no man filled it better than the transformed Tam. Alert and full of resource, with one hand on the tiller, he leaned over the boat, lengthening or shortening rope for the halter, and regulating the speed of the oarsmen with unerring judgment; giving a staunch swimmer time and a short rope to lean on, or literally dragging the faint-hearted across at full speed; careful then only of ...

— We of the Never-Never • Jeanie "Mrs. Aeneas" Gunn

... ran round the cabin. The fish were placed on an earthenware dish, each man cutting off slices with his jack-knife, and using his bread as a platter. Little was said while the meal went on; but when they went on deck again, the skipper, having put another man at the tiller, while the man released went forward to ...

— When London Burned • G. A. Henty

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