cockpit

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the compartment in an aircraft where the pilots sit and operate the controls

   The captain entered the cockpit and completed the preflight checks.

2. 2
   noun

   the enclosed driving position in a racing car, boat, or similar vehicle

   The driver climbed out of the racing car's narrow cockpit after the final lap.

3. 3
   noun

   historical: a pit or enclosed arena in which fighting cocks were matched

   Spectators crowded around the cockpit to wager on the fighting birds.

Simplified etymology

Cockpit originally meant a pit or enclosure for cockfights in the mid-16th century. Its associations with bloodshed led to its late-17th-century use for the part of a warship where wounded sailors were treated; it later named a yacht's steering well and, in the early 20th century, the control compartment of an aircraft or racing car.

Originally cock + pit, an enclosure for cockfighting. The name was later used for a cramped compartment in a warship, then for the driver's or pilot's control space in racing vehicles and aircraft.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary