What is "pioneer"

Pioneer \Pi`o*neer"\, n. [F. pionier, orig., a foot soldier, OF. peonier, fr. OF. peon a foot soldier, F. pion. See Pawn in chess.]

1. (Mil.) A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances.

2. One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow; as, pioneers of civilization; pioneers of reform.

Pioneer \Pi`o*neer"\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Pioneered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pioneering.]

1. To go before, and prepare or open a way for; to act as pioneer.

2. to take part in the early development of; to break ground in; to invent or originate.

1520s, "foot soldier who prepares the way for the army," from Middle French pionnier "foot-soldier, pioneer," from Old French paonier "foot-soldier" (11c.), from peon (see pawn (n.2)). Figurative sense of "person who goes first or does something first" is from c.1600. Related: Pioneers.

1780, from pioneer (n.). Related: Pioneered; pioneering.

n. 1 One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow. 2 A person or other entity who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress. vb. To go before and prepare or open a way for; to act as pioneer.

1. n. someone who helps to open up a new line of research or technology or art [syn: innovator, trailblazer, groundbreaker]

2. one the first colonists or settler in a new territory; "they went west as pioneers with only the possessions they could carry with them"

3. v. open up an area or prepare a way; "She pioneered a graduate program for women students" [syn: open up]

4. take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of; "This South African surgeon pioneered heart transplants" [syn: initiate]

5. open up and explore a new area; "pioneer space"

The Pioneer was a passenger train run by Amtrak from Seattle, Washington to Chicago, Illinois via Portland, Oregon; Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; and other intermediate points.

Pioneer is the name of the first railroad locomotive to operate in Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1837 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Utica and Schenectady Railroad (U&S) in New York, then purchased used by William B. Ogden for the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU, the oldest predecessor of Chicago and North Western Railway). The locomotive arrived in Chicago by schooner on October 10, 1848, and it pulled the first train westbound out of the city on October 25, 1848.

A pioneer is a soldier employed to perform engineering and construction tasks. The term is in principle similar to sapper.

Pioneers were originally part of the artillery branch of European armies. Subsequently, they formed part of the engineering branch, the logistic branch, part of the infantry; or even comprised a branch in their own right.

Historically, the primary role of pioneer units was to assist other arms in tasks such as the construction of field fortifications, military camps, bridges and roads. Prior to and during the First World War, pioneers were often engaged in the construction and repair of military railways.

During the 20th century, British Commonwealth military forces came to distinguish between small units of " assault pioneers" belonging to infantry regiments and separate pioneer units (as in the former Royal Pioneer Corps). The United States Marine Corps has sometimes organized its sappers into "Pioneer Battalions".

Pioneer, The Pioneer or pioneering may refer to:

• American pioneer, a western migrant in American history

Pioneer is the third full-length studio album by The Maine and it was released on December 6, 2011. The album features singles "Don't Give Up On Us" and "Some Days." The album sold over 12,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 90 on the Billboard 200.

Pioneer is the second studio album by American country music group The Band Perry. It was released on April 2, 2013 via Republic Records. A deluxe edition with four bonus tracks and a special red album cover with an autograph from each band member was made available at Target stores the same day. The Band Perry co-wrote nine of the album's twelve tracks. The album has produced four singles: " Better Dig Two", " Done", " Don't Let Me Be Lonely" and " Chainsaw". As of October 2015, the album has sold 619,000 copies in the United States.

Pioneer is a 2013 Norwegian thriller film directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg. It was released on 30 August, followed by a screening in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Pioneer was a 19th-century paddle-steamer gunboat used in New Zealand. Built in Sydney to the order of the New Zealand colonial government by the Australian Steam Navigation Company, she cost 9,500 pounds. Launched in 1863, she was towed across the Tasman Sea by HMS Eclipse, leaving Sydney on 22 September and arriving at Onehunga on 3 October 1863.

She was a flat-bottomed, stern-wheel paddle-steamer of 304 tons, made of 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) iron. She was 42.6 m long, 6 m beam, and drew only 0.9 m fully laden for travel on the Waikato River. With twin 30 hp engines and a 3.7 m (12 foot) stern wheel she had a speed of 9 knots. She had two iron cupolas or turrets, which were pierced for rifles and 12 pdr guns. The cupolas were 2.4 m (8 feet) high and 3.6 m (12 feet) in diameter.

She was manned by officers and men of the Royal Navy, two companies from HMS Curacoa; and flew the pendant of Commodore Sir William Wiseman of Curacoa. She proved of immense service in the skirmishing on the Waikato River in 1863 during the Waikato Campaign of the New Zealand Wars

In 1866 she was wrecked on the Manukau bar. The two turrets are on display in Mercer (as part of the war memorial) and Ngaruawahia. There are two engravings of her in action on the Waikato River in Ross and Howard, from the Illustrated London News.

river gunboat pioneer.jpg| Pioneer, 1863–1866, was New Zealand's first purpose-built warship gun turret.jpg|A turret on display at Ngaruawahia

Pioneer is a Soviet/ Russian monthly magazine originally published by the Central Council of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League and All-Union Pioneer Organisation, for schoolchildren aged 10-14.

Pioneer is a free and open source space trading and combat simulator video game inspired by the commercial proprietary Frontier: Elite 2. It is available for most desktop computer operating systems.

Pioneer, formerly News from Verona, is an American Christian music band. They come from Indianapolis, Indiana. The band started making music in 2008. Their membership is Chad Shirrell, Dalton Meyers, Dan Voris, and Dustin Jones, with former members being Josh Randolph and Nick Berry. The band released, an extended play as News from Verona, All I Know Is I Know Nothing, independently, in 2010. Their next release, a studio album, was released by Slospeak Records, Pioneer, in 2012. They released, a second extended play, Passive Aggression, Pt. 1, in 2015, with Slospeak Records.

Pioneer is a the first studio album by Pioneer. Slospeak Records released the album on January 24, 2012.

"Pioneer" is a song performed by Hungarian singer Freddie. The song represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, and reached the 19th position in the final. The song was written by Borbála Csarnai, while production was handled by Zé Szabó. The song was released as a digital download on 30 December 2015 through Misztral Music.

Pioneer one of the first steamboats in California, after the Sitka in 1847, was a sidewheel steamboat equipped with an engine and boiler brought out in pieces from Boston on the 800 ton Edward Everett, and put together at the West Point, at Benicia.

The Edward Everett owned by the The Boston and California Mining and Trading Joint Stock Company or "Edward Everett Company" arrived at Benicia on July 10th, and while most of the members of the company went off to mine gold on the Mokelumne River, the best mechanics in the Company were left behind at Benicia to built and launch the steamer. The keel was laid by the 13th of July, and on the 12th of August Pioneer was launched and brought along side the ship. Her boiler and machinery were then lowered into her from the ship and secured in place. On the 15th a trial run was successfully made. Although considered by the company to be too slow, she was loaded for a voyage up to Sacramento, starting on the 17th of August, 1849. The first officer of the Edward Everett, William V. Wells was in command, Alfred N. Proctor as engineer and S. P. Barker as assistant.

When she arrived at Sacramento on the early morning of 19th of August, 1849:

Pioneer was intended to run on the Sacramento River, and was a side-wheeler, 70 feet in length, 25 feet beam, with an eight horse power engine that made "4 knots an hour, against wind and tide" and would normally carry forty passengers in her cabin and on her decks. In September, she made one trip to Sacramento and back, then was sold to Simmons, Hutchinson & Company for $6,000, for service between Sacramento and the Yuba River. Pioneer soon after met its end, holed by a snag and sunk on the Feather River.