buccaneer English · revision 389

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌbʌkəˈnɪə/ ''(UK)''; /ˌbʌkəˈnɪɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|boucanier|t=one who smokes meat on a boucan]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|fr|boucan|t=a wooden frame for smoking or roasting meat]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|tpw|mokaʔe]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Etymonline cites a Tupi form ''mukem'', and the American Heritage Dictionary allows an Arawakan source as well.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One who dries and smokes meat on a boucan in the manner of the native peoples, a name first given to French hunters of wild oxen and boars on Hispaniola and Tortuga (1661).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Driven from their hunting by the Spanish authorities, these settlers turned to plundering Spanish ships and coasts,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) and by 1690 ''buccaneer'' meant a pirate of the Spanish Main.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) In the 19th century it was extended to any sea rover (1846),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and later to a ruthless adventurer in business or politics.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) The same Caribbean cooking frame is behind [[barbecue]], through a Haitian variant ''barbacoa''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1661 – a hunter who smokes meat on a boucan.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1686 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1690 – a pirate preying on Spanish ships in the West Indies.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1795 – verb, to act as a buccaneer.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1846 – any sea rover.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A pirate, especially one of those who raided Spanish ships and colonies in the West Indies in the 17th century.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An unscrupulous adventurer, especially in business or politics.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To act as a pirate.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[buccaneerish]]

+ * [[buccaneering]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[barbecue]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}