corsair
pronunciation
How to pronounce corsair in British English:
UK [kɔ:'seə(r)]
How to pronounce corsair in American English:
US [kɔr'ser]
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- Noun:
- a pirate along the Barbary coast
- a swift pirate ship (often operating with official sanction)
Word Origin
- corsair
- corsair: [15] Etymologically, a corsair is someone who goes on a ‘course’. Latin cursus (source of English course) was a derivative of Latin currere ‘run’, and meant originally a ‘run’. From this it developed to ‘journey’ and ‘expedition’ to ‘hostile or predatory expedition’, and eventually to the proceeds of such a raid, the ‘plunder’ or ‘booty’. In medieval Latin the term cursārius was derived from it to denote someone who took part in such raids, and this passed into English via Old Italian corsaro, Provençal corsari, and Old French corsaire.=> course, hussar
- corsair (n.)
- 1540s, from Middle French corsaire (15c.), from Provençal cursar, Italian corsaro, from Medieval Latin cursarius "pirate," from Latin cursus "course, a running," from currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). Meaning of the Medieval Latin verb evolved from "course" to "journey" to "expedition" to an expedition specifically for plunder.
Example
- 1. Malachy corsair all the explosives detonated and zheng want to die together .
- 2. Corsair exploded , marazzi , and their own ambitions up in smoke together .
- 3. All in all , it didn 't feel worthy of being both the corsair and the scout 's replacement .