 The word "pioneer" originates with the Middle French "pionnier" (originally, a foot soldier, or soldier involved in digging trenches), from the same root as peon or pawn.In the English language, the term independently evolved a sense of being an innovator or trailblazer.As early as 1664, Englishman John Evelyn used the term with a self-effacing "workman" meaning when he wrote in his treatise on planting, "Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees"