helmless
verb (used with object)
3.
to steer; direct.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English helme, Old English helma; cognate with Middle High German halme, helm handle, Old Norse hjalm rudder
before 900; Middle English helme, Old English helma; cognate with Middle High German halme, helm handle, Old Norse hjalm rudder
Related forms
helm·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To helmless
00:10
Helmless
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
helm1 (hɛlm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | nautical |
| a. the wheel, tiller, or entire apparatus by which a vessel is steered | |
| b. the position of the helm: that is, on the side of the keel opposite from that of the rudder | |
| 2. | a position of leadership or control (esp in the phrase at the helm) |
| —vb | |
| 3. | (tr) to direct or steer |
| [Old English helma; related to Old Norse hjalm rudder, Old High German halmo] | |
| 'helmless1 | |
| —adj | |
| helm1 (hɛlm) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | nautical |
| a. the wheel, tiller, or entire apparatus by which a vessel is steered | |
| b. the position of the helm: that is, on the side of the keel opposite from that of the rudder | |
| 2. | a position of leadership or control (esp in the phrase at the helm) |
| —vb | |
| 3. | (tr) to direct or steer |
| [Old English helma; related to Old Norse hjalm rudder, Old High German halmo] | |
| 'helmless1 | |
| —adj | |
| helm2 (hɛlm) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an archaic or poetic word for helmet |
| —vb | |
| 2. | archaic, poetic or (tr) to supply with a helmet |
| [Old English helm; related to helan to cover, Old Norse hjalmr, Gothic hilms, Old High German helm helmet, Sanskrit śárman protection] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
helm
"tiller," from O.E. helma "position of guidance, control," from P.Gmc. *khelman- (cf. O.N. hjalm, N.H.G. helm "handle").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| HELM Health and Environment Library Modules |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Nearby Words
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