[Probably named around 1854 by the applicants for the British patent on the device, after Latin Pelōrus and Greek Pelōros, the name of a skilled pilot whom Hannibal is said to have put to death in Messina for treachery (although Hannibal later realized the pilot's faithfulness and erected a monument to him there), probably a legendary name derived from Greek Pelōros, Pelōrias, ancient names of Messina, probably from pelōros, prodigious, monstrous (perhaps from the dangerous whirlpool, winds, and currents of the Strait of Messina ); see PELORIA.]