| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| pioneer |
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| SYLLABICATION: | pi·o·neer |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  p   -nîr |
| NOUN: | 1. One who ventures into unknown or unclaimed territory to settle. 2. One who opens up new areas of thought, research, or development: a pioneer in aviation. 3. A soldier who performs construction and demolition work in the field to facilitate troop movements. 4. Ecology An animal or plant species that establishes itself in a previously barren environment. | | ADJECTIVE: | 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of early settlers: the pioneer spirit. 2. Leading the way; trailblazing: a pioneer treatment for cancer. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: pi·o·neered, pi·o·neer·ing, pi·o·neers
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1a. To open up (an area) or prepare (a way): rockets that pioneered outer space. b. To settle (a region). 2. To initiate or participate in the development of: surgeons who pioneered organ transplants. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To act as a pioneer: pioneered in development of the laser. | | ETYMOLOGY: | French pionnier, from Old French peonier, foot soldier, from peon, from Medieval Latin ped , pedn-, from Late Latin, one who has broad feet, from Latin p s, ped-, foot. See ped- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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