King James Bible Dictionary

RUD'DER, noun [See Row. The oar was the first rudder used by man, and is still the instrument of steering certain boats.]

1. In navigation, the instrument by which a ship is steered; that part of the helm which consists of a piece of timber, broad at the bottom, which enters the water and is attached to the stern-post by hinges, on which it turns. This timber is managed by means of the tiller or wheel.

2. That which guides or governs the course.

For rhyme the rudder is of verses.

3. A sieve. [Local. See Riddle.]

Rudder perch, a small fish with the upper part of the body brown, varied with large round spots of yellow, the belly and sides streaked with lines of white and yellow. This fish is said to follow the rudders of ships in the warm parts of the Atlantic.

Ancient ships had two great broad-bladed oars for rudders. These, when not in use, were lifted out of the water and bound or tied up. When required for use, these bands were unloosed and the rudders allowed to drop into the water (Acts 27:40).