Copilots

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Crew members who jointly fly an aircraft alongside the main pilot ; people who help steer or assist someone in a shared leadership or driving role
2. Second pilots who share the controls of planes with the captain ; companions who help guide a vehicle or team alongside its main operator
3. Assistants sitting beside the pilot in flight ; partners who support a leader or driver by sharing the work of direction

Etymology: "Copilots" is the plural of "copilot," a noun formed from the prefix "co-" (together, jointly) attached to "pilot." The pilot is the person who steers an aircraft or ship, and the copilot is the second person sharing that job, so the compound simply names a partner in the controls. The "co-" element comes from Latin "com," meaning "with" or "together," which passed into English as a prefix in many words such as "cooperate" and "coexist." Attaching it to "pilot" follows the same pattern, producing a term whose parts are both transparent to a modern reader.

Synonyms: co-pilots, first officers