Definition

Noun

  • An old term for a helmsman.

Origin

Probably earlier than the early 17th century. From the French word timonier, of the same meaning, and thence from Late Latin, timon, meaning helm. Also derived from the old word, tymon, meaming staff.

Comments

Early tillers on vessels were simple wooden staffs. Throughout the 19th century, the word timoneer is used somewhat poetically to describe a person at the helm of a ship. The 1762 poem The Shipwreck by William Falconer has the following line:

The helm the attentive timoneer applies.

References

Kemp, P. (1994). The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press.

King, D., Hattendorf, J.B, & Estes, J.W. (1997). A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O’Brian’s Seafaring Tales (2nd Ed.). Owl Books.

Rogers, J.G. (1985). Origins of Sea Terms. Mystic Seaport.