pilot

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight
  2. noun a person qualified to guide ships through difficult waters going into or out of a harbor
  3. noun a program exemplifying a contemplated series; intended to attract sponsors

Etymology

From Middle French pilot, pillot, from Italian pilota, piloto, older also pedotta, pedot(t)o (the form in pil- is probably influenced by pileggiare (“to sail, navigate”)); ultimately from unattested Byzantine Greek *πηδώτης (*pēdṓtēs, “helmsman”), from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, “blade of an oar, oar”), hence also Ancient and Modern Greek πηδάλιον (pēdálion, “rudder”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

airplane pilot

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