Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A vertically hinged plate of metal, fiberglass, or wood mounted at the stern of a ship or boat for directing its course.
- n. A similar structure at the tail of an aircraft, used for effecting horizontal changes in course.
- n. A controlling agent or influence over direction; a guide.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. That part of the helm which is abaft the stern-post, and is turned by the tiller so as to expose its side more or less to the resistance of the water and thus direct the ship's course. It is usually hinged on the stern-post by pintles and gudgeons.
- n. That which guides or governs the course.
- n. . A kind of paddle to stir with.
- n. A bird's tail-feather; a rectrix: as, “rectrices, rudders, or true tail-feathers,”
- n. A riddle or sieve.
- n. An obsolete form of rother.
Wiktionary
- n. 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).
- n. 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.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Prov. Eng. A riddle or sieve.
- n. (Naut.) 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.
- n. Fig.: That which resembles a rudder as a guide or governor; that which guides or governs the course.
- n. In an aircraft, a surface the function of which is to exert a turning moment about an axis of the craft.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a hinged vertical airfoil mounted at the tail of an aircraft and used to make horizontal course changes
- n. (nautical) steering mechanism consisting of a hinged vertical plate mounted at the stern of a vessel
Etymologies
- Old English rōþor ("rudder"), from Proto-Germanic *rōþran (“rudder"; literally, "paddle, instrument for rowing”), from Proto-Germanic *rōanan "to row" from Proto-Indo-European *ere-, *rē- (“to row”) + Proto-Germanic *-þran, *-þraz, instrumental suffix. Akin to Old English rōwan ("to row"). More at rōwan, -þor. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English ruder, from Old English rōther, steering oar. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I know there's so much going on in the cockpit when you're trying to fly, and the rudders at your feet, the right and left rudder, is it possible that this could have been what we call a rudder roll?”
“The time seems coming when he who sees no world but that of courts and camps, and writes only how soldiers were drilled and shot, and how this ministerial conjurer out-conjured that other, and then guided, or at least held, something which he called the rudder of Government, but which was rather the spigot of Taxation, wherewith in place of steering he could tax, will pass for a more or less instructive”
“Xisithrus says: he would not know a rudder from a prop”
Think Progress » Obama explains climate science to global warming deniers.
“LOL he would not know a rudder from a prop. February 19th, 2010 at 9: 22 pm”
Think Progress » Obama explains climate science to global warming deniers.
““Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.””
“Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.”
““Man once surrendering his reason,” wrote Jefferson, “like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.”
Think Progress » Report: Global Warming Pollution Has Doubled in 28 States Since 1960
“If that rudder, which is attached right to the end of the stabilizer, if that's swinging out more than it should, it's going to be torn off the plane.”
“The pedals work the rudder, which is not nearly as critical as the ailerons along the wing, controlled by the steering column.”
“The rudder is the vertical flap on the tail; it makes the airplane turn.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rudder’.
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Scriptie: Master and Commander
Nice ambient words from the movie. (With apologies to Patrick O'Brian.) Aaaah, life at sea...aboard a hulk of the British navy in 1805...
surprise, acheron, guns, souls, oceans, battlefields, prize, burn, sink, privateer, hammock, lantern and 118 more...
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Addenda to the 1923 Printing of Webst...
Many of these words first came into common usage during World War I, and reflect not only the technological and scientific leaps of the early part of the 20th century, but the new experience of glo...
abri, ace, acidosis, airdrome, air fleet, airplane, air raid, airworthy, altimeter, anaphylaxis, anociassociation, anti-aircraft and 292 more...
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and Bristol fashion
being items related to boats, ships, sailing, nautical and naval lore &c.
sloop, frigate, brigantine, brig, grog, schooner, rig, sail, canvas, jib, forestay, cutter and 150 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, R
retinol, rectory, rhubarb, rancor, recension, rood, redivivus, roborate, redound, ripsnorting, ragtag, recruit and 250 more...
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Prosie: The Launch of the Mauretania ...
by John Maxtone-Graham. Tons of interesting-sounding words, half of which I cannot comprehend on their own, but which together conjure an unmistakable image of naval architecture and shipyard activ...
keel, hull, admiralty, moulding loft, frame-bender, berth, stern, shell plating, tons, mill, fitted, rivet marks and 132 more...
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Without a Paddle (2004)
Words from a 2004 'Without a Paddle' film.
outdo, dip, great call, nagging, TGIF, cobweb, earwax, purty, white-water, christen, teem, carny and 10 more...
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Those Daring Young Men and Their Flyi...
*sigh* I wish I had lived in the barnstorming era. In my flying days, I loved nothing more than flipping around in the air and landing in fields or on dirt runways. (^-^)
puddlejumpers, aviator, aviatrix, ace, flyboy, birdman, aeronaut, stunt pilot, formation flying, aerodrome, rudder, elevators and 65 more...
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Prince of Parties
Some alternatives to calling it your 'D'.
Nebuchadnezzar, Old Adam, Old Horney, Old Man, Lady's Treasure, Lady-ware, Lamp of Life, Creamstick, Lance, Leather Stretcher, Love's Picklock, Love Apples and 87 more...
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The Mariner's Record
quay, gunwale, bosun, starboard, larboard, by and large, offing, scuttle, scuttlebutt, longshoreman, sextant, windfall and 54 more...
Tweets
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