george
n. uncountablen. a nickname that pilots use for the autopilot system in an airplane. You use it when the computer is flying the plane instead of the human pilot.
n. a colloquial term for the automatic pilot system in an aircraft. Used primarily in aviation contexts to refer to the automated flight control system.
I'm tired, so I'll let George fly for a while.
Once we reached our cruising altitude, the captain engaged George to maintain a steady course across the ocean.
While modern flight decks are highly automated, pilots must remain vigilant even when George is in control to ensure the system responds correctly to unexpected turbulence.
Name of an early saint, from Middle English George, from Latin Geōrgius, from Ancient Greek Γεώργῐος (Geṓrgĭos), from γεωργός (geōrgós, “farmer, earth worker”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) (combining form γεω- (geō-)) + ἔργον (érgon, “work”) Doublet of Jorge and Geevarghese. The aircraft autopilot sense is probably from George DeBeeson, who patented an early (1931) autopilot system, and/or a reference to the expression let George do it. The Pullman porter sense derives from George Pullman, who hired Black people to staff his sleeping cars, and the patrons of the service seeing the Black people as servants of George Porter, much like how a slave was named after the master.
Used as a proper name without an article; typically functions as the subject of a sentence.