pilot

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpaɪ.lət/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French pilote (“steersman”),^[2][3] from Italian pilota, piloto,^[2][4] an alteration of Old Italian pedota, pedoto,^[3][2] usually explained as from Medieval Greek *pēdṓtēs “helmsman”,^[3][2][5] from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, “oar”), plural “rudder”,^[2][4] related to poús, podós “foot”.^[3][2] The change of d to l is like that in Latin odor and olet “it smells”.^[2][3] It is related to foot and pedal.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who steers a ship, especially one who takes it in and out of harbour: 1530 in Barnhart and the OED, in Palsgrave;^[2][6] the 1510s in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, a guide or director, is from the 1590s (1593 in the OED).^[3][6] The verb was figurative first, “to guide through dangerous places” (1649),^[2][3] and literal, to steer a ship, from 1693.^[2][6] The person who flies a balloon was called a pilot in the 1830s,^[7] or by 1848 in Barnhart and Etymonline,^[2][3] and later of aircraft and spacecraft.^[6] To fly an aircraft as pilot is from 1852.^[6] The pilot light is from 1890.^[2][3] The adjective “serving as a trial version”, as in pilot study or pilot film, is from 1928,^[2] and the noun, a trial television programme, from 1962.^[6] Drop the pilot, to abandon a trusted adviser, is after a cartoon of Bismarck's dismissal.^[6]

Timeline

• 1530 – one who steers a ship.^[2][6]
• 1593 – a guide, figuratively.^[6]
• 1649 – verb, to guide.^[2]
• 1693 – verb, to steer a ship.^[2][6]
• 1848 – one who flies a balloon or aircraft.^[2][6]
• 1890 – pilot light.^[2][3]
• 1928 – adjective, experimental.^[2]
• 1962 – a trial television programme.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who flies an aircraft.
2. A person licensed to steer ships into and out of a harbour or through difficult waters.
3. A single programme made to test whether a television series would be popular.
4. A guide or leader.
5. A pilot light.

Verb

1. To fly an aircraft or steer a ship as pilot.
2. To guide or lead through a difficult situation.
3. To test a plan or product on a small scale before it is used widely.

Adjective

1. Done as a test before something is introduced widely: a pilot scheme.

Word family

• pilotless
• autopilot
• pilothouse
• pilotweed
• copilot
• pilotage
• bush pilot
• pilot balloon

Related words

• foot
• pedal

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press