helm

views updated Jun 08 2018

helm1 / helm/ • n. (the helm) a tiller or wheel and any associated equipment for steering a ship or boat: she stayed at the helm, alert for tankers. ∎ fig. a position of leadership: they are family-run empires whose founders remain at the helm. ∎  Naut. a helmsman.• v. [tr.] steer (a boat or ship). ∎ fig. manage the running of: the magazine he helmed in the late eighties.helm2 • n. archaic a helmet.DERIVATIVES: helmed adj.

helm

views updated May 18 2018

helm.
1. Spire on a square tower each side of which is crowned with a gable (see roof).

2. Bulbous termination of a tower or turret, commonly occurring in Central and Eastern Europe.

helm

views updated Jun 08 2018

helm1 (arch.), helmet. OE. helm = OS., OHG. (Du., G.) helm, ON. hjálmr, Goth. hilms :- Gmc. *χelmaz, f. IE. base *k̂el- cover, conceal; cf. Skr. śárman- covering, protection.
So helmet XV. — OF., dim. of helme (mod. heaume), — Gmc.; see -ET.

helm

views updated May 21 2018

helm2 tiller. OE. helma, corr. to MLG. helm handle, OHG. helmo, halmo, ON. hjalmvǫlr ‘rudder-stick’; of uncert. orig.

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