Etymology of Pilot

Jim, I'm fairly sure you aren't referring to "Pilate", but I have to ask...

It does make me wonder what a "Pontias Pilot" would be. Perhaps a pilot with
really clean hands?



Well, military chaplains (at least in the UK) are frequently known as
'Sky Pilots'.

Damian
Paunchy Pilot :-)

"Damian" wrote in message
...

Jim, I'm fairly sure you aren't referring to "Pilate", but I have to
ask...

It does make me wonder what a "Pontias Pilot" would be. Perhaps a pilot
with
really clean hands?



Well, military chaplains (at least in the UK) are frequently known as
'Sky Pilots'.

pilot [16] Pilot comes ultimately from a Greek word for 'oar,' pedon, which
went back to the same Indo-European base as produced English foot. Its
plural, peda, was used for 'redder,' and from this was derived medieval
Greek pedotes 'rudder, helmsman' This in turn was borrowed into medieval
Latin at pedotu, which was later altered to piloflea - whence, in French,
English pilot. From out of its career in English of course, the word has
been used in connection with the steering of ships, but in the middle of the
19th Century began to be applied to the steering of balloons, and the first
record of its modem use for 'flier of an aeroplane comes from 1907. --
Arcade Dictionary of Word Origins