helm

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.

• Fair laughs the Morn, and ſoft the Zephyr blovvs, / VVhile proudly riding o'er the azure realm / In gallant trim the gilded Veſſel goes; / Youth on the provv, and Pleaſure at the helm; […]

The use of a helm (sense 1); also, the amount of space through which a helm is turned.broadly

The member of a vessel's crew in charge of steering the vessel; a helmsman or helmswoman.broadly

Something used to control or steer; also (obsolete), a handle of a tool or weapon; a haft, a helve.broadly

• A great axe first she gave, that two ways cut, / In which a fair well-polish'd helm was put, / That from an olive bough receiv'd his frame.

A position of control or leadership.figuratively

• the helm of the Commonwealth

One in the position of controlling or directing; a controller, a director, a guide.figuratively

• [Y]ou ſlander / The Helmes o'th State: vvho care for you like Fathers, / VVhen you curſe them, as Enemies.

To control the helm (noun sense 1) of (a marine vessel); to be in charge of steering (a vessel).transitive

• [A] wild wave in the wild North-sea, / […] overbears the bark, / And him that helms it, […]

To direct or lead (a project, etc.); to manage (an organization).figurativelytransitive

• Ile ſtriue to be nor great nor ſmale, / To liue nor die, fate helmeth all, / VVhen I can breath no longer, then, / Heauen take all, there put Amen.
• The very ſtreame of his life, and the buſineſſe he hath helmed, muſt vppon a vvarranted neede, giue him a better proclamation.

A helmet.archaicpoetictransitive

• Their plumed helmes are wrought with beaten golde, / Their ſwords enameld, and about their neckes / Hangs maſſie chaines of golde downe to the waſte, / In euery part exceding braue and rich.
• O're Shields and Helmes, and helmed heads he rode / Of Thrones and mighty Seraphim proſtrate, / That vviſh'd the Mountains novv might be again / Throvvn on them as a ſhelter from his ire.

A shelter for cattle or other farm animals; a hemmel, a shed.Northern-Englandbroadlytransitive

A heavy cloud lying on the brow of a mountain, especially one associated with a storm.broadlytransitive

• Then ancient Skiddaw, stern and proud, / In sullen majesty replying, / Thus spake from out of his helm of cloud […]

The crown or top of something.broadlydialectaltransitive

The upper part or cap of an alembic or retort.broadlyobsoletetransitive

• The Dragons teeth, Mercurie ſublimate, / That keepes the vvhiteneſſe, hardneſſe and the biting; / And they are gather’d, into Iaſon’s helme, / (Th’Alembeke) and then ſovv’d in Mars his field, / And, thence, ſublim’d ſo often, till they are

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

• Oh Noble Conon, / You taught my tender Hands the Trade of VVar; / And novv again you Helm your hoary Head, / And under double vveight of Age and Arms, / Aſſert your Countries Freedom, and my Crovvn.
• Then from the bank / He sprung, and helm'd his head.

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.countabletransitive

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”).alt-ofalternativetransitive

• The sheriff, John Griffith, had prepared green wood to burn him; but one master John Pikes, pitying the man, caused divers to go with him to Ridland, half a mile off, who brought good store of helme-sheaves, which indeed made good dispatch

Synonym of bentgrass (“any of numerous reedy grass species of the genus Agrostis”)obsoletetransitiveuncountable

• The Italians, and Spaniards, call it Sparto, and the ſecond ſort Albardi, The Dutch Halm. And vve in Engliſh, Helme, and Matvveede, but the people all along the Coaſts of Norfolke and Suffolke, call it Marram, and may be called Sea Ruſhes a

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