## Meanings
1. A person who attacks and robs ships at sea.
2. A person who illegally copies and sells films, music, or software.
3. To illegally copy films, music, or software.

## Examples
- The pirates boarded the ship and stole its cargo.
- Software pirates sell cheap, illegal copies of expensive programs.
- He pirated the new game instead of paying for it.

## Synonyms
- buccaneer
- corsair
- freebooter
- picaroon
- raider
- reaver
- sea-robber

## Derived Forms
- antipirate
- arch-pirate
- archpirate
- biopirate
- cyberpirate
- piracy
- piratable
- piratebush
- pirated
- piratelike
- pirately
- pirateship

## Related Forms
- arr
- blackjack
- booty
- matey
- yo-ho-ho

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *per-
- Root: pirate
- Root: pīrāta
- Root: πειρατής

## Etymology
From Middle English pirate, pirat, pyrat, from Old French pirate, from Latin pīrāta (“pirate”), from Ancient Greek πειρατής (peiratḗs), from πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, attempt, plot”). Displaced native Old English wīċing, which was the word for both "pirate" and "viking".

## AI Etymology
Pirate comes from Middle English pirate, pirat, pyrat, from Old French pirate, from Latin pīrāta (“pirate”), from Ancient Greek πειρατής (peiratḗs), from πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, attempt, plot”). Displaced native Old English wīċing, which was the word for both "pirate" and "viking". In present-day English it covers a person who attacks and robs ships at sea, a person who illegally copies and sells films, music, or software, and to illegally copy films, music, or software. The wider family includes derived forms such as antipirate, arch-pirate, archpirate, biopirate, cyberpirate and related forms such as arr, blackjack, booty, matey.

## Topics
- People & Society

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