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() Why is cockpit so called? () (http://au.answers.yahoo.com/my/profile;_ylt=AlH8ttiqBqeh4chQnh1JSmEp6Qt.?show=852f0920b0d5749accaf3a42ef3cb045aa) Best Answer - Chosen By Voters A cockpit was a pit used for cockfighting, where owners would pit fighting birds against each other for the purpose of gambling. In the 16th century, it was used to mean a place of entertainment or frenzied activity. William Shakespeare used the term in Henry V to specifically mean the area around the stage of a theater. In 1759, the English artist William Hogarth produced a satirical print called The Cockpit showing the enthusiasm of the gamblers during a cockfight. Belgium is sometimes known as the "Cockpit of Europe." Cockpit also came to be used for any small enclosed area. On Royal Navy warships in the 17th and 18th century, the area where junior officers were stationed became known as the cockpit. This led to the word being used to refer to the area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls. Cockpit as a term for the pilot's compartment in an aircraft first appeared in 1914 and from about 1935 cockpit also came to be used informally to refer to the driver's seat of a car, especially a high performance one, and this is official terminology in Formula One. Jim Scroggins <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
