Helm — Defs

01 n. See Haulm, straw.

02 n. The apparatus by which a ship is steered, comprising rudder, tiller, wheel, etc.; -- commonly used of the tiller or wheel alone.

1.
The apparatus by which a ship is steered, comprising rudder, tiller, wheel, etc.; -- commonly used of the tiller or wheel alone.(Naut.)
2.
The place or office of direction or administration.
3.
One at the place of direction or control; a steersman; hence, a guide; a director.
“The helms o' the State, who care for you like fathers.” — Shak.
4.
A helve.[Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Phrases & compounds

Helm amidships — when the tiller, rudder, and keel are in the same plane.

Helm aport — when the tiller is borne over to the port side of the ship.

Helm astarboard — when the tiller is borne to the starboard side.

Helm alee — when the tiller is borne over to the lee or to the weather side.

Helm hard alee — when the tiller is borne over to the extreme limit.

Helm port — the round hole in a vessel's counter through which the rudderstock passes.

Helm down — helm alee.

Helm up — helm aweather.

To ease the helm — to let the tiller come more amidships, so as to lessen the strain on the rudder.

To feel the helm — to obey it.

To right the helm — to put it amidships.

To shift the helm — to bear the tiller over to the corresponding position on the opposite side of the vessel.

03 v. t. To steer; to guide; to direct.

imp. & p. p. Helmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Helming

1.
To steer; to guide; to direct.[R.]
“The business he hath helmed.” — Shak.

“A wild wave . . . overbears the bark, And him that helms it.” — Tennyson.

04 n. A helmet.

05 v. t. To cover or furnish with a helm or helmet.

1.
To cover or furnish with a helm or helmet.[Perh. used only as a past part. or part. adj.]
“She that helmed was in starke stours.” — Chaucer.