Meaning

noun someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight

noun a person qualified to guide ships through difficult waters going into or out of a harbor

noun a program exemplifying a contemplated series; intended to attract sponsors

originFrom Middle French pilot, pillot, from Italian pilota, piloto, older also pedotta, pedot(t)o (the form in pil- is probably influenced by pileggiare (“to sail, navigate”)); ultimately from unattested Byzantine Greek *πηδώτης (*pēdṓtēs, “helmsman”), from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, “blade of an oar, oar”), hence also Ancient and Modern Greek πηδάλιον (pēdálion, “rudder”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0