— pathfinding , n. , adj.
/path"fuyn'deuhr, pahth"-/ , n.
1. a person who finds or makes a path, way, route, etc.,esp. through a previously unexplored or untraveled wilderness.
2. an airplane, or a person dropped from a plane, sent into a target area to illuminate the area for succeeding aircraft.
3. a radar beacon beamed into a target area to provide guidance for missiles seeking the target.
4. ( cap. ) an unmanned spacecraft that landed on Mars on July 4, 1997, to obtain climatic and geologic data.
[ 1830-40, Amer. ; PATH + FINDER ]