till·er

1 [til-er]
noun
1.
a person who tills; farmer.
2.
a person or thing that tills; cultivator.

Origin:
1200–50; Middle English tiliere. See till2, -er1

Dictionary.com Unabridged

til·ler

2 [til-er]
noun Nautical.
a bar or lever fitted to the head of a rudder, for turning the rudder in steering.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Anglo-French teiler weaver's beam; Old French teilier < Medieval Latin tēlārium, equivalent to Latin tēl(a) warp + -ārium -ary

till·er·less, adjective
00:10
Tiller is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

til·ler

3 [til-er]
noun
1.
a plant shoot that springs from the root or bottom of the original stalk.
2.
a sapling.
verb (used without object)
3.
(of a plant) to put forth new shoots from the root or around the bottom of the original stalk.

Origin:
before 1000; Old English telgor twig, shoot (not recorded in ME); akin to telge rod, Old Norse tjalga branch, telgja to cut

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To tiller
Collins
World English Dictionary
till2 (tɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to cultivate and work (land) for the raising of crops
2.  another word for plough
 
[Old English tilian to try, obtain; related to Old Frisian tilia to obtain, Old Saxon tilōn to obtain, Old High German zilōn to hasten towards]
 
'tillable2
 
adj
 
'tiller2
 
n

tiller1 (ˈtɪlə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
nautical a handle fixed to the top of a rudderpost to serve as a lever in steering it
 
[C14: from Anglo-French teiler beam of a loom, from Medieval Latin tēlārium, from Latin tēla web]
 
'tillerless1
 
adj

tiller2 (ˈtɪlə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a shoot that arises from the base of the stem in grasses
2.  a less common name for sapling
 
vb
3.  (intr) (of a plant) to produce tillers
 
[Old English telgor twig; related to Icelandic tjalga branch]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tiller
mid-14c., "stock of a crossbow," from O.Fr. telier "stock of a crossbow" (c.1200), originally "weaver's beam," from M.L. telarium, from L. tela "web, loom," from PIE *teks-la-, from base *teks- "to weave" (see texture). Meaning "bar to turn the rudder of a boat" first recorded 1620s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Awesome that even larger ships crossed oceans, and sailed the world, with
  tiller in hand.
The same sensor is used on a boat to shine a beam off the tiller bar, using the
  reflection to measure the angle of the rudder.
Each tiller has a head, or panicle, that actually produces the grains of rice.
They navigate easily through locks and aqueducts steered by a tiller.
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