pirate

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A criminal who plunders at sea; commonly attacking merchant vessels, though often pillaging port towns.

   You should be cautious due to the Somali pirates.

2. 2
   noun

   An armed ship or vessel that sails for the purpose of plundering other vessels.

   The third day out a pirate (Terebinthian by her rig) overhauled us, but when she saw us well armed she stood off after some shooting of arrows on either part—

3. 3
   noun

   One who breaks intellectual property laws by reproducing protected works without permission.

   And Gnutella, Freenet and other pirate tools will offer plunderings beyond Fanning's fantasies.

4. 4
   noun

   A kind of marble in children's games.

   Most of the time it went fine; some of his classmates had so many marbles they could have opened up their own shop in smurfs, pirates, purple aggies and pink panthers.

5. 5
   verb

   To appropriate by piracy; to plunder at sea.

   They pirated the tanker and sailed to a port where they could sell the ship and cargo.

6. 6
   verb

   To create and/or sell an unauthorized copy of.

   If a book is pirated there is a remedy for the author and publisher; if a photograph or an engraving is made of a picture without permission the law protects the painter.

7. 7
   verb

   To knowingly obtain an unauthorized copy of.

   Not willing to pay full price for the computer game, Heidi pirated a copy.

8. 8
   verb

   To engage in piracy.

   He pirated in the Atlantic for years before becoming a privateer for the Queen.

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".