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corsair

[kawr-sair]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR corsair ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a fast ship used for piracy.
a pirate, especially formerly of the Barbary Coast.
(initial capital letter) Military. a gull-winged, propeller-driven fighter plane built for the U.S. Navy in World War II and kept in service into the early 1950s.

RELATED WORDS

buccaneer, robber, marauder, freebooter, picaroon

Origin of corsair

1540–50; < Middle French corsaire < Provençal corsar(i) < Upper Italian corsaro < Medieval Latin cursārius, equivalent to Latin curs(us) course + -ārius -ary
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for corsair

Contemporary Examples of corsair

Historical Examples of corsair

  • Yusuf was standing at the corsair leader's elbow speaking rapidly.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • He considered the corsair a moment with his sunken smouldering eyes.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • "Pay him, Ali," said the corsair shortly, and he advanced to receive his purchase.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • The words were out and the thing was done before Asad had realized the corsair's intent.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

  • He was just, and he had a conscience, as odd a thing as it was awkward in a corsair Basha.

    The Sea-Hawk

    Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for corsair

corsair

noun

a pirate
a privateer, esp of the Barbary Coast

Word Origin for corsair

C15: from Old French corsaire pirate, from Medieval Latin cursārius, from Latin cursus a running, course
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for 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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper