tiller

Tiller is a term with several distinct meanings in English. It can denote a person who tills land, a farmer; it can refer to equipment used to till soil, such as a rotary tiller or cultivator; it is the steering lever on a boat that controls a rudder; and in botany, it describes a shoot that grows from the base of a plant. The word stems from till, meaning to cultivate.

In agriculture, a tiller may be a person who tills soil, or a machine designed to do so. A rotary tiller (or cultivator) is a powered implement with rotating tines that break up compacted soil, mix in organic matter, and prepare a seedbed. Manual tillage tools, including hoes and hand cultivators, perform similar tasks on a smaller scale.

In nautical contexts, the tiller is a lever used to steer a vessel by moving the rudder. On small boats the tiller is attached directly to the rudder; on larger ships it may be connected to a wheel through gearing or cranks. The tiller has largely been supplanted by a steering wheel in most modern ships, but remains common on small craft and in historic vessels.

In botany, a tiller is a side shoot that arises from the base of a grass or perennial plant, producing additional stems. Tillering increases the number of flowering stalks and overall plant biomass, influencing yield in crops such as wheat, rice, and many grasses.