The Founding Fathers who wrote that fine book RAF Air Publication 1979A entitled Elementary Flying Training - (First edition April 1943) under the chapter called "The aircraft and its component parts", have this to say about the controls:
The principle controls are the control column or stick, the rudder bar and the throttle; other subsidiary controls will be referred to later. The stick is so placed that it comes between the pilot's knees".
Right through the book the control column is referred to as "the stick." Why use 13 letters when you can use four letters to mean the same thing?