rudder
/ˈɹʌdɚ/
UK: /ˈɹʌdə(ɹ)/
rudder
English
Noun Top 15,335
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Definition
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).
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.
Example Sentences
- "For rhyme the rudder is of verses,/With which, like ships, they steer their courses."
- "He sniffed Tarka’s hair from rudder to neck, and his nose remained at the neck. It was a strange smell, and he sniffed carefully, not wanting to touch the fur with his nostrils."
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