Pilot

pī′lut, n. the steersman of a ship: one who conducts ships in and out of a harbour, along a dangerous coast, .: a guide.— v.t. to conduct as a pilot: to direct through dangerous places.— ns. Pī′lotage , the skill of a pilot: the act of piloting: the fee or wages of pilots; Pī′lot-boat , a boat used by pilots for meeting or leaving ships; Pī′lot-cloth , a coarse, stout kind of cloth for overcoats; Pī′lot-en′gine , a locomotive engine sent on before a train to clear its way, as a pilot; Pī′lot-fish , a fish of the mackerel family, so called from its having been supposed to guide sharks to their prey; Pī′lot-flag , the flag hoisted at the fore by a ve el needing a pilot; Pī′lot-house , an enclosed place on deck to shelter the steering-gear and the pilot—also Wheel-house ; Pī′lot-jack′et , a pea-jacket worn by seamen; Pī′lot-whale , the caaing-whale (q.v.). [Fr. pilote —Dut. piloot , from peilen , to sound, loot (Ger. loth , Eng. lead ), a sounding-lead.]