rudder
UK /ˈɹʌdəː/ · US /ˈɹʌdɚ/ noun
Forms rudders
- noun (nautical) An underwater vane used to steer a vessel. The rudder is controlled by means of a wheel, tiller or other apparatus (modern vessels can be controlled even with a joystick or an autopilot).
- noun (aeronautics) A control surface on the vertical stabilizer of a fixed-wing aircraft or an autogyro. On some craft, the entire vertical stabilizer comprises the rudder. The rudder is controlled by foot-operated control pedals.
- noun A riddle or sieve.
- noun (figurative) That which resembles a rudder as a guide or governor; that which guides or governs the course.
- noun The tail of an otter.
Etymology
From Middle English rodder, rother, ruder, from Old English rōþor (“oar, rudder”), from Proto-West Germanic *rōþr, from Proto-Germanic *rōþrą (“oar, rudder”) (compare Dutch and West Frisian roer, German Ruder), from Proto-Germanic *rōaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”) + Proto-Germanic *-þrą, *-þraz, instrumental suffix. Akin to Old English rōwan (“to row”). More at rōwan, -þor.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A riddle or sieve. [Prov. Eng.]
- noun The mechanical appliance by means of which a vessel is guided or steered when in motion. It is a broad and flat blade made of wood or iron, with a long shank, and is fastened in an upright position, usually by one edge, to the sternpost of the vessel in such a way that it can be turned from side to side in the water by means of a tiller, wheel, or other attachment.
- noun Fig.: That which resembles a rudder as a guide or governor; that which guides or governs the course.
Etymology [OE. rother, AS. roedher a paddle; akin to D. roer rudder, oar, G. ruder, OHG. roadar, Sw. roder, ror, Dan. roer, ror. sq. root 8. See Row to propel with an oar, and cf. Rother.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “rudder”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details