letter of marque
Americannoun
noun
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a licence granted by a state to a private citizen to arm a ship and seize merchant vessels of another nation
-
a similar licence issued by a nation allowing a private citizen to seize goods or citizens of another nation
Etymology
Origin of letter of marque
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As England, France, Holland and Spain alternately warred and wooed one another in a diplomatic cotillion, you could choose to privateer with an official letter of marque or simply attack everything that sailed.
From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2010
“She’s a letter of marque ship,” Hab said.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
“The Astrea mounts nineteen guns, Captain Prince. If any of your crew has ever shipped on a privateer or a letter of marque ship they—ah—might be useful.”
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
"A twenty-gun letter of marque with a mongrel crew," writes MacDonald of Garth, "a miserable sailor with a miserable commander and a rascally crew."
From The Story of the Trapper by Laut, A. C.
Her present captain, Samuel Tobin Dewey, who had sailed a letter of marque during the Revolution, was a bosom friend of Captain Steele.
From Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812 by Barnes, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
