Dictionary entry

Cockpit

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Cock″pit′ (kŏk″pĭt), n. 1. A pit, or inclosed area, for cockfights.

Henry the Eighth had built... a cockpit.

Macaulay.

2. The Privy Council room at Westminster; — so called because built on the site of the cockpit of Whitehall palace. Brande & C.

3. (Naut.) (a) That part of a war vessel appropriated to the wounded during an engagement. (b) In yachts and other small vessels, a space lower than the rest of the deck, which affords easy access to the cabin.