pilot

See also: Pilot

English

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”),[1] hence also Ancient and Modern Greek πηδάλιον (pēdálion, “rudder”).[2]

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪlət/
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (AU) (file)
Rhymes: -aɪlət
Homophone: Pilate

Noun

pilot (plural pilots)

A person who steers a ship, a helmsman.
- 1697, John Dryden, The Works of Virgil, The Aeneid Book One
  They scud before the wind, and sail in open sea.
  Ahead of all the master pilot steers;
  And, as he leads, the following navy veers.
A person who knows well the depths and currents of a harbor or coastal area, who is hired by a vessel to help navigate the harbor or coast.
A guide book for maritime navigation.
An instrument for detecting the compass error.
(Australia, road transport, informal) A pilot vehicle.
(Australia, road transport) A person authorised to drive such a vehicle during an escort.
A guide or escort through an unknown or dangerous area.
- 1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, E. L. Cary and A. Hart, page 43:
  So we mounted our horses, and put out for that town, under the direction of two friendly Creeks we had taken for pilots.
Something serving as a test or trial.
- 2018, Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body, Faber & Faber (2020), page 40:
  “I agreed with my husband when he said that to do the business properly we must do a pilot first.”
We would like to run a pilot in your facility before rolling out the program citywide.
1. (mining) The heading or excavation of relatively small dimensions, first made in the driving of a larger tunnel.
(aviation) A person who is in charge of the controls of an aircraft.
(television) A sample episode of a proposed TV series produced to decide if it should be made or not. If approved, typically the first episode of an actual TV series.
(rail transport) A cowcatcher.
(motor racing) A driver.
A pilot light.
One who flies a kite.
- 2003, John P. Glaser, A Father's Collage, page 31:
  Julia has become quite a good kite pilot. She has learned how to repeatedly buzz her father's head, coming within two feet, and not hitting him.
A short plug, sometimes made interchangeable, at the end of a counterbore to guide the tool.

Derived terms

Terms derived from pilot (noun and adjective)

autopilot
bush pilot
copilot
hangar pilot
pilot balloon
pilot beam
pilot experiment
pilot fish (Naucrates ductor)
pilot flag
pilot hole
pilot lamp
pilot light
pilotman
pilot project
pilot scheme
pilot valve
pilot version
pilot whale (Globicephala spp.)
pilot wheel
sky pilot
test pilot

Descendants

→ Dari: پیلوت‎ (pilot)
→ Hindi: पायलट (pāylaṭ)
→ Japanese: パイロット (pairotto)
→ Korean: 파일럿 (pailleot)
→ Northern Kurdish: pîlot

Translations

controller of aircraft

Afrikaans: vlieënier (af)
Albanian: pilot (sq) m
Arabic: طَيَّار‎ m (ṭayyār), طَيَّارَة‎ (ar) f (ṭayyāra) (female)
Armenian: օդաչու (hy) (ōdačʿu)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܛܵܝܘܿܣܵܐ‎ m (ṭāyosā), ܛܵܝܘܿܣܬܵܐ‎ f (ṭāyostā)
Azerbaijani: pilot (az), təyyarəçi (az), aviator
Basque: hegazkinlari
Belarusian: лётчык m (ljótčyk), лётчыца f (ljótčyca), піло́т m (pilót), пілёт m (piljót), авія́тар m (avijátar), лётнік m (ljótnik), лётніца f (ljótnica)
Bengali: বিমান চালক (biman calôkô), বৈমানিক (boimanik)
Breton: loman m
Bulgarian: лете́ц (bg) m (letéc), пило́т (bg) m (pilót), авиа́тор (bg) m (aviátor), авиа́торка f (aviátorka)
Burmese: လေယာဉ်မှူး (my) (leyanyhmu:)
Catalan: pilot (ca) m or f
Chechen: кеманхо (kemanxo), пилот (pilot)
Cherokee: ᎦᏃᎯᎵᏙᎯ (ganohilidohi)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 機師／机师, 机师 (gei¹ si¹), 飛機師／飞机师, 飞机师 (fei¹ gei¹ si¹)
Mandarin: 飛行員／飞行员 (zh) (fēixíngyuán), 駕駛員／驾驶员 (zh) (jiàshǐyuán)
Czech: pilot (cs) m, pilotka f, letec (cs) m, letkyně (cs) f
Danish: pilot (da) c
Dutch: piloot (nl) m, vliegenier (nl)
Estonian: piloot
Faroese: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: lentäjä (fi), pilotti (fi)
French: pilote (fr) m
Georgian: პილოტი (ṗiloṭi), მფრინავი (mprinavi)
German: Pilot (de) m, Pilotin (de) f, Flugzeugführer m, Flugzeugführerin f
Greek: πιλότος (el) m (pilótos), (rare) χειριστής (el) m (cheiristís), (passenger aircraft only) κυβερνήτης (el) m (kyvernítis)
Greenlandic: ilisimasortaq, timmisartortartoq
Hebrew: טייס \\ טַיָּס‎ (he) m (tayás)
Hindi: पायलट (hi) m (pāylaṭ), हवाबाज़ m (havābāz), विमानचालक (hi) m (vimāncālak)
Hungarian: pilóta (hu)
Icelandic: flugmaður m
Ido: pilotanto (io), pilotero, pilotisto (io)
Indonesian: pilot (id), penerbang (id)
Italian: pilota (it) m or f
Japanese: パイロット (ja) (pairotto), 操縦士 (そうじゅうし, sōjūshi), 飛行士 (ja) (ひこうし, hikōshi)
Javanese: ꦗꦸꦫꦸꦄꦔ꧀ꦒꦼꦒꦤ (juru anggegana)
Kalmyk: нисәч (nisäch)
Kazakh: ұшқыш (ūşqyş)
Khmer: អ្នកបើកយន្តហោះ (nĕək baək yŭən hɑh), អាកាសយានិក (ʼaakaah yiənɨk)
Korean: 조종사(操縱士) (ko) (jojongsa), 파일럿 (pailleot), 비행사(飛行士) (bihaengsa)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: pîlot (ku), firvan (ku)
Kyrgyz: учкуч (ky) (uçkuç), лётчик (lyotçik), пилот (pilot)
Lao: ນັກບິນ (nak bin), ນັກຂັບຍົນ (lo) (nak khap nyon)
Latvian: pilots m, lidotājs m
Lithuanian: pilotas m, aviatorius m, lakūnas m
Macedonian: пилот m (pilot), пило́тка f (pilótka), летач m (letač), летачка f (letačka)
Malay: juruterbang (ms)
Maori: paerata
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: нисгэгч (mn) (nisgegč)
Mongolian: ᠨᠢᠰᠬᠡᠭᠴᠢ (niskeɣči)
Norman: pilote m
Northern Sami: girdi
Norwegian:
Bokmål: pilot m, flyger (no) m
Nynorsk: pilot m
Pashto: پيلوټ‎ (ps) m (piloṭ), پايلوټ‎ m (pāyloṭ), هوانورد‎ m (hawānaward)
Persian: خلبان‎ (fa) (xalabân), پیلوت‎ (fa) (pilot) (Dari), هوانورد‎ (fa) (havânavard)
Plautdietsch: Pieloot m
Polish: pilot (pl) m, pilotka (pl) f, lotnik (pl) m, lotniczka f
Portuguese: piloto (pt) m
Romanian: pilot (ro) m
Russian: лётчик (ru) m (ljótčik), лётчица (ru) f (ljótčica), пило́т (ru) m (pilót), авиа́тор (ru) m (aviátor)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: авија̀тича̄р m, авија̀тича̄рка f, пѝло̄т m, пѝло̄ткиња f
Roman: avijàtičār (sh) m, avijàtičārka (sh) f, pìlōt (sh) m, pìlōtkinja (sh) f
Slovak: pilot m, pilotka f, letec m, letkyňa f
Slovene: pilot (sl) m, pilotka f
Spanish: piloto (es) m
Swahili: rubani (sw)
Swedish: pilot (sv) c
Tagalog: piloto, malim
Tajik: лётчик (lyotčik), пилот (pilot), ҳавонавард (havonavard)
Tatar: очучы (tt) (oçuçı)
Thai: นักบิน (th) (nák-bin)
Turkish: pilot (tr), uçarman
Turkmen: lýotçik, pilot
Ukrainian: льо́тчик m (lʹótčyk), льо́тчиця f (lʹótčycja), піло́т m (pilót), авіа́тор (uk) m (aviátor)
Urdu: پائلٹ‎ m (pāylaṭ), ہواباز‎ m (havābāz)
Uyghur: ئۇچقۇچى‎ (uchquchi)
Uzbek: uchuvchi (uz), pilot (uz)
Vietnamese: phi công (vi)
Yiddish: פּילאָט‎ m (pilot), אַוויאַטאָר‎ m (avyator)

steerer

Bulgarian: кормчи́я (bg) m (kormčíja)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 領航／领航 (zh) (lǐngháng)
Finnish: ruorimies (fi)
Greek: πηδαλιούχος (el) m (pidalioúchos)
Ancient: κυβερνήτης m (kubernḗtēs)
Latin: gubernātor m
Maori: kaiurungi
Russian: шту́рман (ru) m (štúrman), ко́рмчий (ru) m (kórmčij) (dated)
Swedish: styrman (sv) c

person who helps navigate the harbor or coast

Armenian: նավատար (hy) (navatar), լոցման (hy) (locʿman)
Breton: loman m, levier
Bulgarian: ло́цман (bg) m (lócman)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 引水人 (zh) (yínshuǐrén), 引港 (zh) (yíngǎng)
Czech: lodivod (cs) m
Dutch: loods (nl) m
Estonian: loots, lootsija (uncommon)
Finnish: luotsi (fi)
German: Lotse (de) m
Greek: πηδαλιούχος (el) m (pidalioúchos), πλοηγός (el) m (ploïgós)
Hungarian: révkalauz (hu)
Japanese: 水先案内人 (ja) (みずさきあんないにん, mizusaki annainin), 水先人 (ja) (みずさきにん, mizusakinin)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: rêberê keştîyê
Latvian: locis m
Norwegian:
Bokmål: los (no) m
Nynorsk: los m
Portuguese: prático (pt) m
Russian: ло́цман (ru) m (lócman)
Swedish: lots (sv) c
Turkish: kılavuz (tr)
Westrobothnian: los m

sample TV series episode

Catalan: pilot (ca) m or f
Dutch: pilot (nl) c
Finnish: koejakso
French: programme pilote m
Greek: πιλότος (el) m (pilótos), πιλοτικό επεισόδιο n (pilotikó epeisódio)
Hungarian: próbaepizód
Maori: whakatauira
Portuguese: piloto (pt) m
Russian: пило́т (ru) m (pilót)
Spanish: piloto (es) m or f
Swedish: pilotavsnitt n

Adjective

pilot (not comparable)

Made or used as a test or demonstration of capability.
a pilot run of the new factory
The pilot plant showed the need for major process changes.
Used to control or activate another device.
a pilot light
Being a vehicle to warn other road users of the presence of an oversize vehicle/combination.
a pilot vehicle

Translations

made or used as a test

Bulgarian: контро́лен (bg) (kontrólen), опитен (bg) m (opiten)
Catalan: pilot (ca) m or f
Finnish: koe- (fi), pilotti- (fi)
Georgian: პილოტური (ṗiloṭuri)
Latvian: eksperimentāls
Maori: whakatauira
Russian: контро́льный (ru) (kontrólʹnyj), про́бный (ru) (próbnyj), эксперимента́льный (ru) (eksperimentálʹnyj), о́пытный (ru) (ópytnyj)
Thai: นำร่อง (th) (nam-rɔ̂ng)

used as indicator

Finnish: merkki- (fi)
Spanish: piloto (es) m or f

being a vehicle to warn other road users

Finnish: varoitus- (fi)

Verb

pilot (third-person singular simple present pilots, present participle piloting, simple past and past participle piloted)

(transitive) To control (an aircraft or watercraft).
(transitive) To guide (a vessel) through coastal waters.
(transitive) To test or have a preliminary trial of (an idea, a new product, etc.)
(rail transport, of a locomotive) To serve as the leading locomotive on a double-headed train.
- 1962 October, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region: Midland Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 279:
  One of the Midland Lines' Birmingham R.C.W. Type 2 diesels, No. D5403, made the debut of its class in the Manchester area on July 28 when it appeared in the early hours on freight; after four days in the area it left for the south piloting B.R./Sulzer Type 4 diesel No. D88 on the 2.25 Manchester Central-St. Pancras.

Translations

to control an aircraft or watercraft

Breton: lomaniñ (1), leviañ (br) (1,2)
Bulgarian: пилоти́рам impf (pilotíram)
Catalan: pilotar (ca)
Finnish: ohjata (fi)
Galician: pilotar (gl)
German: führen (de)
Greek: πιλοτάρω (pilotáro) (1), διευθύνω (ðiefthíno) (rare), κυβερνώ (el) (kyvernó), χειρίζομαι (çirízome) (1, 2), πλοηγώ (el) (ploïgó)
Ancient: κυβερνάω (kubernáō)
Ido: pilotar (io)
Latin: gubernō
Latvian: pilotēt, vadīt (lv)
Maori: takitaki, arahi
Polish: pilotować (pl) impf
Portuguese: pilotar (pt)
Russian: пилоти́ровать (ru) impf (pilotírovatʹ)
Spanish: pilotar (es)

to guide through coastal waters

Breton: ^{(please verify)} lomaniñ, ^{(please verify)} leviañ (br)
Bulgarian: прека́рвам (bg) impf (prekárvam), преве́ждам (bg) impf (prevéždam)
Finnish: luotsata (fi)
Galician: pilotar (gl)
German: lotsen (de)
Greek: ^{(please verify)} πλοηγώ (el) (ploïgó), ^{(please verify)} διευθύνω (el) (diefthýno) (rare), κυβερνώ (el) (kyvernó), ^{(please verify)} χειρίζομαι (el) (cheirízomai)
Polish: pilotować (pl)
Russian: управля́ть (ru) impf (upravljátʹ), вести́ (ru) impf (vestí)

to test

Catalan: provar (ca)
Finnish: kokeilla (fi), testata (fi), pilotoida (fi)
Galician: probar
Maori: whakatauira
Spanish: probar (es)

References

pilot at OneLook Dictionary Search
pilot in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Liddell-Scott entry for πηδόν
Liddell-Scott entry for πηδάλιον

Anagrams

potli, ptilo-, topil

Catalan

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /piˈlɔt/
Rhymes: -ɔt

Adjective

pilot (feminine pilota, masculine plural pilots, feminine plural pilotes)

pilot

Derived terms

copilot
pilotar

Noun

pilot m (plural pilots)

pilot
driver
light, warning light

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈpɪlot]

Noun

pilot m anim

pilot (controller of aircraft)

Declension

Declension of pilot

	singular	plural
nominative	pilot	piloti, pilotové
genitive	pilota	pilotů
dative	pilotovi, pilotu	pilotům
accusative	pilota	piloty
vocative	pilote	piloti, pilotové
locative	pilotovi, pilotu	pilotech
instrumental	pilotem	piloty

Derived terms

pilotní
pilotovat

Danish

Noun

pilot c (singular definite piloten, plural indefinite piloter)

pilot

Declension

Declension of pilot

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	pilot	piloten	piloter	piloterne
genitive	pilots	pilotens	piloters	piloternes

References

“pilot” in Den Danske Ordbog

Indonesian

Etymology

Internationalism, borrowed from English pilot, 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”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpilɔt̚/
Rhymes: -lɔt, -ɔt, -t
Hyphenation: pi‧lot

Noun

pilot (plural pilot-pilot, first-person possessive pilotku, second-person possessive pilotmu, third-person possessive pilotnya)

(aviation) pilot: A person who is in charge of the controls of an aircraft.
Synonyms: juru terbang, penerbang
Synonym: juruterbang (Standard Malay)

Derived terms

dipiloti
memiloti

pilot karier
pilot otomatis
pilot studi

Latvian

Noun

pilot

vocative singular form of pilots

Verb

pilot

present conjunctive form of pilēt
(with the particle lai) imperative conjunctive form of pilēt

Participle

pilot (invariable)

adverbial present active participle of pilēt (invariable form)

Middle French

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

pilot m (plural pilots)

stake (pole designed to be pushed into the ground)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French pilote.

Noun

pilot m (definite singular piloten, indefinite plural piloter, definite plural pilotene)

pilot (controller of an aircraft)

Synonyms

flyger

Derived terms

autopilot
pilotprosjekt

References

“pilot” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French pilote.

Noun

pilot m (definite singular piloten, indefinite plural pilotar, definite plural pilotane)

pilot (controller of an aircraft)

Derived terms

autopilot
pilotprosjekt

References

“pilot” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpi.lɔt/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -ilɔt
Syllabification: pi‧lot

Noun

pilot m pers

pilot (controller of aircraft)

Declension

Declension of pilot

	singular	plural
nominative	pilot	piloci
genitive	pilota	pilotów
dative	pilotowi	pilotom
accusative	pilota	pilotów
instrumental	pilotem	pilotami
locative	pilocie	pilotach
vocative	pilocie	piloci

Noun

pilot m inan

remote control

Declension

Declension of pilot

	singular	plural
nominative	pilot	piloty
genitive	pilota	pilotów
dative	pilotowi	pilotom
accusative	pilot	piloty
instrumental	pilotem	pilotami
locative	pilocie	pilotach
vocative	pilocie	piloty

Derived terms

noun

automatyczny pilot
autopilot
bezpilotowy

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French pilote.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /piˈlot/

Noun

pilot m (plural piloți)

pilot

Declension

Declension of pilot

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) pilot	pilotul	(niște) piloți	piloții
genitive/dative	(unui) pilot	pilotului	(unor) piloți	piloților
vocative	pilotule		piloților

Related terms

aeroport
avion
a pilota

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from French pilote.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /piˈlot/
Hyphenation: pi‧lot

Adjective

pilot

pilot

Noun

pilot (definite accusative pilotu, plural pilotlar)

pilot
race car driver
Synonym: araba yarışçısı

Derived terms

pilot bölge
pilot kabini
pilot köşkü
pilotluk

Related terms

pilotaj

[1] Liddell-Scott entry for πηδόν

[2] Liddell-Scott entry for πηδάλιον

pilot

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Adjective

Translations

Verb

Translations

References

Anagrams

Catalan

Pronunciation

Adjective

Derived terms

Noun

Further reading

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

Danish

Noun

Declension

References

Indonesian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Further reading

Latvian

Noun

Verb

Participle

Middle French

Etymology

Noun

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Noun

Derived terms

References

Polish

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms

Turkish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms