Etymologically
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pirate

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈpaɪə.rət/, US /ˈpaɪ.rət/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French pirate and directly from Latin pīrāta,[2][3] from Greek πειρατής (peirātḗs, “brigand, pirate”), literally one who attacks,[2][3][4][5] from peirân, to attack, attempt, from peîra, trial, attempt (see peril and empirical).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A sea robber: probably before 1300 in Kyng Alisaunder, about 1300 in Etymonline, 1387 in the OED;[2][3][6] the surname Pyrot is from 1254.[2]

Semantic evolution

Old English had sǣsceaða, “sea-scather”, for a pirate, and ðēofscip, “thief-ship”, for a pirate ship.[3] A pirate ship is itself a pirate from 1600.[6] Figuratively, any plunderer is from the late 15th century,[3] 1526 in the OED.[6] One who reproduces another's work without permission is first recorded in 1701, in Defoe,[2] 1668 in the OED,[6] and the verb in this sense by 1706.[3] The verb, to rob at sea, is from 1574.[2][3] An unlicensed radio broadcaster is a pirate from 1913,[6] and an omnibus that poached another's route was one in 1889.[6]

Timeline

  • 1254 – Pyrot (surname).[2]
  • before 1300 – a sea robber.[2]
  • 1574 – to pirate (verb).[2]
  • 1668 – a copier of others' work.[6]
  • 1913 – an unlicensed broadcaster.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who attacks and robs ships at sea.
  2. A person who copies or uses another's work without permission.
  3. An unlicensed radio or television broadcaster.

Verb

  1. To copy or use another's work without permission.
  2. To attack and rob at sea.

Word family

  • piratic
  • piratically
  • piratical
  • piratelike
  • piracy
  • pirate perch

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press