Tiller
/ˈtɪl.ər/noun
A lever or wheel used to steer a boat, or a young shoot growing from the base of a plant.
Did you know?The steering sense of tiller is tied to the old verb meaning ‘to draw’ or ‘pull,’ while the plant sense developed from the idea of a shoot being drawn up from the base—proof that language quietly steers both ships and roots.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*del-
“to split, carve, or hollow out; also to draw or cut”
Old English
OE
tilian
“to strive for, obtain, or labor toward”
Middle English
ME
tillen
“to cultivate land; to labor at farming”
Middle English
ME
tiller
“a cultivator of land; later, a steering lever on a boat”
Modern English
English
tiller
“a lever used to steer a vessel; a young shoot from the base of a plant”