■ noun
1》 a person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.
2》 a person with expert local knowledge qualified to take charge of a ship entering or leaving a harbour.
↘ archaic a guide or leader.
3》 [often as modifier ] something done or produced as an experiment or test before wider introduction: a ~ scheme.
4》 Telecommunications an unmodulated reference signal transmitted with another signal for the purposes of control or synchronization.
■ verb ( ~s , ~ing , ~ed )
1》 act as a ~ of (an aircraft or ship).
↘guide; steer.
2》 test (a scheme, project, etc.) before introducing it more widely.
Derivatives
~age noun
~less adjective
Origin
C16: from Fr. ~e , from med. L. ~us , based on Gk pēdon 'oar', (plural) 'rudder'.