From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
cockpit
n 1: compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft
2: an enclosure for cockfights
3: seat where the driver sits while driving a racing car
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Cockpit \Cock"pit`\ (k[o^]k"p[i^]t), n.
1. A pit, or inclosed area, for cockfights.
[1913 Webster]
Henry the Eighth had built . . . a cockpit.
--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
2. The Privy Council room at Westminster; -- so called
because built on the site of the cockpit of Whitehall
palace. --Brande & C.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
4. In airplanes or boats, the space where the pilot or
operator sits to control the vehicle. In airplanes it is
usually in the front of the fuselage. In larger airplanes
it may be closed off from the cabin, where the
passengers travel.
[PJC]