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pirata

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pirata

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek πειρατής
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (πειρατής)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [piːˈraː.ta][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [piˈraː.ta][1]

Forms

pīrāta m (genitive pīrātae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πειρατής (peiratḗs, “pirate”),[2][3][1][4] from πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, attempt”), so first “one who makes attempts”.[1][3][5] Isidore derived it from the burning of the ships the pirates took.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Cicero as its first author.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is a sea robber, corsair or pirate.[2][3][1] Cicero says that a pirate is not counted among enemies in war but is the common enemy of all.[3]

Church Latin glosses it “pirate”.[7] In Medieval Latin it is also a sailor, and a robber not at sea.[8] English pirate is first recorded about 1300, in the middle of the 13th century already as a surname.[9]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the pirate as the common enemy of all.[3][5]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore explains the name.[6][5]
  • c. 1300 – Borrowed into English as pirate.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pirate, corsair.[2][3][1][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A sailor; a robber.[8]

Word family

  • archipīrāta
  • pīrāticus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pirata.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pirata. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·