Meanings
nounrudder (plural rudders)
plural rudders
- aeronauticsA 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.
- figurativelyThat which resembles a rudder as a guide or governor; that which guides or governs the course.
For rhyme the rudder is of verses,/With which, like ships, they steer their courses.
1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, Part I, Canto I - The tail of an otter.
He sniffed Tarka’s hair from rudder to neck, and his nose remained at the neck. It was a strange smell, and he sniffed carefully, not wanting to touch the fur with his nostrils.
1927, Henry William Williamson, Tarka the Otter, Chapter 19
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁reh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁roh₁-(ye-)-ti
- Proto-Germanic*rōaną
- Proto-Germanic*rōþrą
- Proto-West Germanic*rōþr
- Old Englishrōþor
- Middle Englishrother
- Englishrudder
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πηδάλιον
- πηδάλιον (pēdálion)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
Arabic دَفَّة, سُكَّان
- دَفَّة (daffa)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- سُكَّان (sukkān)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- سُكَّان (sukkān)control surface of an aircraft
- دَفَّة (daffa)control surface of an aircraft
Bulgarian рул, кормило
- рул (rul)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- кормило (kormilo)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
Catalan timó, timó
- timóunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- timócontrol surface of an aircraft
Chinese Mandarin 舵, 船舵
- 舵 (duò)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- 船舵 (chuánduò)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- 舵 (duò)control surface of an aircraft
- 方向舵 (fāngxiàngduò)control surface of an aircraft
Czech kormidlo, kormidlo
- kormidlounderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- kormidlocontrol surface of an aircraft
Danish ror, ror
- rorunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- rorcontrol surface of an aircraft
- halerorcontrol surface of an aircraft
- siderorcontrol surface of an aircraft
Dutch roer, roer
- roerunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- roercontrol surface of an aircraft
Esperanto direktilo, rudro
- direktilounderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- rudrounderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- direktilocontrol surface of an aircraft
Estonian pöördetüür
- pöördetüürcontrol surface of an aircraft
Finnish peräsin, peräsin
- peräsinunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- peräsincontrol surface of an aircraft
- sivuperäsincontrol surface of an aircraft
French gouvernail, safran
- gouvernailunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- safranunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- gouvernecontrol surface of an aircraft
German Ruder, Steuer
- Ruderunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- Steuerunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- Steuerruderunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- Steuerrudercontrol surface of an aircraft
- Rudercontrol surface of an aircraft
Greek πηδάλιο, πηδάλιο
- πηδάλιο (pidálio)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- πηδάλιο (pidálio)control surface of an aircraft
Hindi अरित्र, पतवार
- अरित्र (aritra)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- पतवार (patvār)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
Hungarian kormánylapát
- kormánylapátunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Indonesian daun kemudi, kemudi sepak
- daun kemudiunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- kemudi sepakunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- kemudi arahcontrol surface of an aircraft
Italian timone, timone orizzontale
- timoneunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- timone orizzontaleunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- timonecontrol surface of an aircraft
- timone di codacontrol surface of an aircraft
- timone di profonditàcontrol surface of an aircraft
- timone di direzionecontrol surface of an aircraft
Japanese 舵, 舵
- 舵 (kaji)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- 舵 (kaji)control surface of an aircraft
- 方向舵 (hōkōda)control surface of an aircraft
Korean 키, 방향타
- 키 (ki)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- 방향타 (banghyangta)control surface of an aircraft
Latin gubernāculum
- gubernāculumunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Malay rudder
- rudderunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Māori urunga, urungi
- urungaunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- urungiunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Norwegian ror, haleror
- rorcontrol surface of an aircraft
- halerorcontrol surface of an aircraft
- siderorcontrol surface of an aircraft
Norwegian Bokmål ror
- rorunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Persian خلاشه, سکان
- خلاشه (xalâše)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- سکان (sokân)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
Polish ster, ster kierunku
- sterunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- ster kierunkucontrol surface of an aircraft
Portuguese leme, leme
- lemeunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- lemecontrol surface of an aircraft
Romanian cârmă
- cârmăunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Russian руль, корми́ло
- руль (rulʹ)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- корми́ло (kormílo)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- руль поворо́та (rulʹ povoróta)control surface of an aircraft
- руль направле́ния (rulʹ napravlénija)control surface of an aircraft
Scottish Gaelic stiùir
- stiùirunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Slovak kormidlo
- kormidlounderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Spanish timón, gobernalle
- timónunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- gobernalleunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- timóncontrol surface of an aircraft
- gobernallecontrol surface of an aircraft
Swahili usukani
- usukaniunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Swedish roder, roder
- roderunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- rodercontrol surface of an aircraft
Thai หางเสือ, หางเสือเรือ
- หางเสือ (hǎang-sʉ̌ʉa)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- หางเสือเรือ (hǎang-sʉ̌ʉa-rʉʉa)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- หางเสือเลี้ยว (hǎang-sʉ̌ʉa-líao)control surface of an aircraft
Turkish dümen, dümen
- dümenunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
- dümencontrol surface of an aircraft
Ukrainian руль, стерно́
- руль (rulʹ)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- стерно́ (sternó)underwater vane used to steer a vessel
Vietnamese bánh lái
- bánh láiunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Welsh llyw
- llywunderwater vane used to steer a vessel
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with rudder
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
rudder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rudder
MLA
“rudder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rudder. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rudder,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rudder.
Source: rudder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.