/waw"teuhr hweel', -weel', wot"euhr-/ , n.
1. a wheel or turbine turned by the weight or momentum of water and used to operate machinery.
2. a wheel with buckets for raising or drawing water, as a noria.
3. the paddle wheel of a steamboat. Also, water wheel .
[ 1375-1425; late ME; see WATER, WHEEL ]