freebooter

English

Etymology

free +‎ booty +‎ -er. Calque of Dutch vrijbuiter (literally “free booty-er”), from vrij (“free”) + buit (“booty”) + -er (occupational suffix). Doublet of filibuster.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹiːbuːtə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

freebooter (plural freebooters)

1. An adventurer who pillages, plunders or wages ad-hoc war on other nations.
   • 1901 May 10, G. H. Davies, “Forest in War”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record‎^[1], volume 4, number 5, page 142:

     The military aspect should, however, be carefully studied, as the result may be to dispel the time-honoured connection between forest and freebooter under modern conditions with long-range rifles.

2. One who rehosts online media without authorization; one who freeboots.

Synonyms

• pirate, see also Thesaurus:pirate
• mercenary, see also Thesaurus:mercenary
• conquistador, filibuster

Coordinate terms

• privateer

Derived terms

• freebooting

Related terms

• filibuster

Translations

A pirate, or person who pillages and plunders

• Bulgarian: пират (bg) m (pirat), корсар m (korsar)
• Dutch: vrijbuiter (nl) m
• Norwegian: fribytter m
• Russian: грабитель (ru) m (grabitelʹ), пират (ru) m (pirat), флибустьер (ru) m (flibustʹjer)