buccaneer
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom French boucanier, from boucaner (“to smoke or broil meat and fish, to hunt wild beasts for their skins”), from boucan (“(Tupi-style) grill”), from Old Tupi moka'ẽ, mboka'ẽ (“wooden grill”).
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ˌbʌkəˈnɪɚ/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)
Noun
editbuccaneer (plural buccaneers)
- (nautical) Any of a group of seamen who cruised on their own account on the Spanish Main and in the Pacific in the 17th century, who were similar to pirates but did not prey on ships of their own nation.
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part I (The Old Buccaneer), page 48:
- “Heard of him!” cried the squire. “Heard of him, you say! He was the bloodthirstiest buccaneer that sailed. […] ”
- A pirate.
Synonyms
edit- privateer, pirate, see also Thesaurus:pirate
Derived terms
editTranslations
edita group of seamen
pirate
|
Verb
editbuccaneer (third-person singular simple present buccaneers, present participle buccaneering, simple past and past participle buccaneered)
- To engage in piracy against any but one's own nation's ships.
- 1963, John Day, edited by Arthur Henry Bullen, The Works of John Day, page v:
- In 1596 and 1597 he bucaneered against Sao Thomi, the Portuguese slaving settlement off the coast of West Africa, and in the Spanish Main
See also
editCategories:
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Old Tupi
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Nautical
- English terms with quotations
- English verbs
- English 3-syllable words
- en:Nautical occupations