pilot

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”).

noun

1. A person who steers a ship, a helmsman.
2. 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.
3. A guide book for maritime navigation.
4. An instrument for detecting the compass error.
5. (Australia, road transport, informal) A pilot vehicle.
6. (Australia, road transport) A person authorised to drive such a vehicle during an escort.
7. A guide or escort through an unknown or dangerous area.
   So we mounted our horses, and put out for that town, under the direction of two friendly Creeks we had taken for pilots. 1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, E. L. Cary and A. Hart, page 43
8. Something serving as a test or trial.
   I agreed with my husband when he said that to do the business properly we must do a pilot first. 2018, Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body, Faber & Faber (2020), page 40
   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.
9. (aviation) A person who is in charge of the controls of an aircraft.
10. (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.
    I think her biggest deal was she starred in a pilot.[…]Well, the way they pick TV shows is they make one show. That show's called a pilot. Then they show that one show to the people who pick shows, and on the strength of that one show, they decide if they wanna make more shows. 1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by Jules (Samuel L. Jackson)
11. (rail transport) A cowcatcher.
12. (Europe, motor racing) A racing driver.
13. A pilot light.
14. One who flies a kite.
    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. 2003, John P. Glaser, A Father's Collage, page 31
15. A short plug, sometimes made interchangeable, at the end of a counterbore to guide the tool.

adj

1. 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.
2. Used to control or activate another device.
   a pilot light
3. Being a vehicle to warn other road users of the presence of an oversize vehicle/combination.
   a pilot vehicle

verb

1. (transitive) To control (an aircraft or watercraft).
2. (transitive) To guide (a vessel) through coastal waters.
3. (transitive) To test or have a preliminary trial of (an idea, a new product, etc.)
4. (rail transport, of a locomotive) To serve as the leading locomotive on a double-headed train.
   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. 1962 October, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region: Midland Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 279