corsair

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔːɹsɛəɹ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French corsaire (“pirate”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old Provençal corsari,^[2][4][5][6] from Italian corsaro,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Medieval Latin cursarius (“pirate, runner”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin cursus (“course, a running”),^[2][3][4][5] from currere “to run”.^[3][4] The sense of Medieval Latin cursus moved from “course” to “expedition” to a raid for plunder.^[4][2][3] It is related to course.^[2][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A privateer of the Mediterranean, especially of the Barbary Coast (1549).^[7][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The OED, quoted by Etymonline, notes that in English the word has often been treated as identical with pirate, although the Barbary corsairs were authorized by their own governments.^[4][7] The word was applied to the ship itself from 1632.^[7][4]

Timeline

• 1549 – a privateer of the Barbary Coast.^[7][3][5]
• 1632 – a privateering vessel.^[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A pirate, especially one of the Barbary Coast.
2. A fast ship used for piracy, often with official sanction; a privateer.

Related words

• course
• current
• hussar
• buccaneer

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press