The Collaborative International Dictionary
Tiller \Till"er\, n. [From OE. tillen, tullen, to draw, pull; probably fr. AS. tyllan in fortyllan to lead astray; or cf. D. tillen to lift up. Cf. Till a drawer.]
(Naut.) A lever of wood or metal fitted to the rudder head and used for turning side to side in steering. In small boats hand power is used; in large vessels, the tiller is moved by means of mechanical appliances. See Illust. of Rudder. Cf. 2d Helm, 1.
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The stalk, or handle, of a crossbow; also, sometimes, the bow itself. [Obs.]
You can shoot in a tiller.
--Beau. & Fl. The handle of anything. [Prov. Eng.]
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A small drawer; a till.
--Dryden.Tiller rope (Naut.), a rope for turning a tiller. In a large vessel it forms the connection between the fore end of the tiller and the steering wheel.
Usage examples of "tiller rope".
He could hear the grating of the tiller rope, but he could not see it, and then, when Fairley dropped the lantern into the hole, he saw the great hemp rope just a foot or so away.
The twin wheels were connected by a hefty wooden drum around which the tiller rope was tightly wound so that a turn of the wheel pulled on the rope and transferred the motion to the tiller bar.
Breaking through into the tiller rope shaft, he switched his beams to bright and looked fore and aft.
He adjusted the tiller rope, which was wrapped around the big toe of his bare right foot.