noun
corsair
kor-SAIR/kɔːrˈser/
A pirate or privateer, especially from the Mediterranean.
The corsair keeps watch aboard a small sailing vessel in the Mediterranean.
Etymology
The “running” root developed through “course,” “journey,” and “expedition” to an expedition for plunder. That raiding sense underlies the name for a pirate, including a government-sanctioned sea raider.
In context
Rome a Corsair swooped down and boarded us our men defended themselves like the pope soldiers they flung themselves upon their knees and threw down their arms begging of the Corsair an Absolution in articul mortis
More examples
- Merchant captains fear attacks by corsairs along the coast.
- The governor authorizes a corsair to raid enemy ships.
- The captured sailors bargain with the corsair for their freedom.
Forms
corsair · corsairs