Etymologically
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piracy

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈpaɪɹəsi/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin pīrātia (“piracy”),[2][3][4][5] recorded in British Latin sources from 1419 to 1606,[2] from Ancient Greek πειρατεία (peirateía, “piracy”),[2][3][4][5] from πειρατής (peiratḗs, “brigand, pirate”) with the suffix -ία (-ía).[2][6] The Greek noun comes, through a verb meaning to attempt or attack, from πεῖρα (peîra, “attempt, trial”).[3][5][1] The Shorter Oxford takes it instead from Latin pīrāta (“pirate”) with the suffix -ia,[7] and the English ending was matched to -acy.[2][7] Dictionary.com records an earlier spelling “pyracie”,[8] and the OED compares the earlier English word piratry.[2] Johnson (1755) derived it from the Greek, Latin and French words for piracy.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Robbery, kidnapping or violence at sea without lawful authority: before 1552, in Leland's Itinerary,[2] 1537 according to Merriam-Webster[6] and 1545–55 according to Dictionary.com.[8] Etymonline dates the English word to the early 15th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

Figurative and extended uses appear from 1606, in Dekker.[2] The sense of reproducing another's book or invention without permission is recorded from 1700, in Ned Ward,[2] in step with the verb pirate, used of literary works by 1706.[5] In the law of nations, the Century Dictionary defined it as depredation or violence on the seas by people without a commission from any state, implying a general hostility to law and not just theft;[5] Merriam-Webster still distinguishes a common-law and an international-law sense.[6] In physical geography it has been used since 1889 for river capture.[2] Later use extended it to hijacking aboard an aircraft and to the copying of software, recordings and other intellectual property.[10][2]

Timeline

  • 1537 – first known use according to Merriam-Webster.[6]
  • before 1552 – robbery or violence at sea.[2]
  • 1606 – figurative and extended use.[2]
  • 1700 – the unauthorized reproduction of another's work.[2]
  • 1889 – physical geography, river capture.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Robbery, kidnapping or violence committed at sea, or from the sea, without lawful authority: Piracy still threatens shipping in some straits.[10][6][2]
  2. (law) Such a crime, or a similar one such as hijacking, committed aboard a ship or aircraft.[10][6]
  3. The unauthorized copying or use of copyrighted or patented work, such as books, music, films or software: software piracy.[10][2]

Word family

  • antipiracy

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins