Cockpits

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A space in an aircraft where the pilot controls the vehicle
2. A compartment in a boat or ship designated for the crew to operate
3. An enclosed area for operating vehicles, particularly in planes and racing cars

Etymology: "Cockpits" is the plural of "cockpit," and the plural itself adds nothing new to the story. The singular has two possible origins, and the sense of "vehicle control area" comes from one of them in a way that is easy to miss. The older, more familiar sense is a pit where roosters fought, "cock" referring to the bird and "pit" to the enclosed space where the fights took place. A cockpit was thus a place of combat before it became anything to do with machinery. The other possibility is a compound of "cock," in the sense of a small boat, and "pit," meaning a hollow or enclosed space. In this reading, the cockpit was a compartment in a boat, the same first element that appears in "cockboat" and "coxswain." Modern "cockpit" for the control area of an aircraft is either a continuation of the boat sense or a transfer from the fighting-pit sense, and the source does not settle which.

Synonyms: controls, bridges, cockpits, driving seats, pilot stations