Etymology

rudder

rudd·er
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Today it means: 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). Full definition →

Middle English rother ← Old English rōþor ← Proto-West Germanic *rōþr
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁reh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁roh₁-(ye-)-ti
  3. Proto-Germanic*rōaną
  4. Proto-Germanic*rōþrą
  5. Proto-West Germanic*rōþr
  6. Old Englishrōþor
  7. Middle Englishrother
  8. English todayrudder

From Middle English rodder, rother, ruder, from Old English rōþor (“oar, rudder”), from Proto-West Germanic *rōþr, from Proto-Germanic *rōþrą (“oar, rudder”). See also Dutch and West Frisian roer, German Ruder; also akin to Old English rōwan (“to row”). More at rōwan, -þor.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishrōþor all →

rother

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.