helm

Meanings

1. The tiller (or, in a large ship, the wheel) which is used to steer the rudder of a marine vessel; also, the entire steering apparatus of a vessel.
2. The use of a helm (sense 1); also, the amount of space through which a helm is turned.
3. The member of a vessel's crew in charge of steering the vessel; a helmsman or helmswoman.
4. Something used to control or steer; also (obsolete), a handle of a tool or weapon; a haft, a helve.
5. A position of control or leadership.
6. One in the position of controlling or directing; a controller, a director, a guide.

1. To control the helm (noun sense 1) of (a marine vessel); to be in charge of steering (a vessel).
2. To direct or lead (a project, etc.); to manage (an organization).

1. A helmet.
2. Synonym of helmet (“the feature above a shield on a coat of arms”).
3. A shelter for cattle or other farm animals; a hemmel, a shed.
4. A heavy cloud lying on the brow of a mountain, especially one associated with a storm.
5. The crown or top of something.
6. The upper part or cap of an alembic or retort.

1. To cover (a head) with a helmet; to provide (someone) with a helmet; to helmet.

1. A stalk of corn, or (uncountable) stalks of corn collectively (that is, straw), especially when bundled together or laid out straight to be used for thatching roofs.
2. Alternative form of haulm (“the stems of various cultivated plants, left after harvesting the crop, which are used as animal food or litter, or for thatching”).
3. Synonym of bentgrass (“any of numerous reedy grass species of the genus Agrostis”)

1. To lay out (stalks of corn, or straw) straight to be used for thatching roofs; to yelm.

1. The wind that blows westward from the Pennine fells over Cumbria and is often accompanied by a line of clouds on top of the hills called the Helm Bar; it is the only named wind in the British Isles.

1. A surname.
2. A placename, from the surname:
3. An unincorporated community in Fresno County, California, United States.
4. An unincorporated community in Russell County, Kentucky, United States.
5. An unincorporated community in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English helm, helme (“tiller of a ship”), from Old English helma (“helm, tiller”), from Proto-Germanic *helmô (“handle; helm, tiller”), either from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”) or from the same source as haulm and helm (“bentgrass, straw”) (see below), Proto-Indo-European *ḱélh₂-m(on)- (“reed, hollow stalk”), one form of which then developed a specialized meaning “handle” in Germanic. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * German Holm (“beam”) * Old Norse hjálm