pirate

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈpaɪɹət/ UK /ˈpaɪɹət/ See IPA manual

Freq #5286

Meanings

1

noun
A person who attacks and robs ships at sea.

The pirates boarded the ship and stole its cargo.
2

noun
A person who illegally copies and sells films, music, or software.

Software pirates sell cheap, illegal copies of expensive programs.
3

verb
To illegally copy films, music, or software.

He pirated the new game instead of paying for it.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who attacks and... buccaneer corsairsea-robber

2 noun · a person who illegally... bootlegger

3 verb · to illegally copy films,... counterfeit plagiarize

More freebooterpicaroonraiderreaver

Word family

Forms piratedpiratespirating

Derived forms antipiratearch-piratearchpiratebiopiratecyberpiratepiracypiratablepiratebushpiratedpiratelikepiratelypirateship

Related forms arrblackjackbooty mateyyo-ho-ho

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pirate flag
a flag identifying a pirate vessel, often showing a skull and crossed bones

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Pirate comes from Latin pirata, which in turn derives from Greek peirein, “to attempt” or “to attack.” Its history reflects the idea of a person who attacks others.

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".

*per- Proto-Indo-European pirate Middle English pīrāta Latin πειρατής Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# pirate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpaɪɹət/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpaɪɹət/
**Frequency rank:** 5286

## 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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