/ ˈkɒkpɪt; NAmE ˈkɑːk-/ noun
the area in a plane, boat or racing car where the pilot or driver sits
—picture at light aircraft , yacht
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. relating to a pit where cockfights are held: from cock + pit a hole in the ground . The current sense dates from the early 20th cent. and derives from an early 18th-cent. nautical term denoting an area in the aft lower deck of a man-of-war where the wounded were taken, later coming to mean the “pit” or well from which a yacht is steered ; hence the place housing the controls of other vehicles.