pioneer English · revision 15032

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1523|origins=la-med pedō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌpaɪ.əˈnɪə/, US /ˌpaɪ.əˈnɪr/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|pionnier|t=foot soldier]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[fro|peonier|t=foot soldier]], from [[m|fro|peon|t=foot soldier]] (see [[pawn]], the chess piece),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-med|pedō|t=foot soldier]].^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) The ending was later made to match [[-eer]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A foot soldier who goes ahead of an army with tools to dig and clear the way: 1523.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A digger, trench-maker or miner in general is from 1572.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, one who goes first and opens the way for others, is first recorded in Bacon's Of the Advancement of Learning (1605).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb is from 1780.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) In ecology a pioneer is a plant that colonizes bare ground (1916),^(OED 1989) and in the Soviet Union a member of a children's organization (1929).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1523 – a military pioneer.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1572 – a digger, miner.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1605 – one who opens the way.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1780 – to pioneer (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1916 – pioneer (ecology).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who goes into unknown or unsettled territory to explore or settle it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who opens up a new area of thought, research or development; an [[innovator]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(military)'' A soldier who digs trenches, builds roads and clears the way for troops.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(ecology)'' The first species to colonize bare ground.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be a pioneer in; to open up or prepare a way.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To begin or help to develop something new.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of early settlers, or leading the way.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pawn]]

+ * [[peon]]

+ * [[pedestrian]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}