letter of marque
|
noun
license or commission granted by a state to a private citizen to capture and confiscate the merchant ships of another nation.
RELATED CONTENT
The Curious Chronicle Of The Letter CThe English language is infamously difficult in part because its spelling befuddles even native speakers as letters take on different sounds depending on what letters surround it. Few letters exemplify this trouble more than the third letter of the English alphabet: C. Think about these words: cease, coin, chic, indict, and discrepancy. In this string of terms, C sounds like S, K, Sh, and in …
A Brief History Of The Letter HThough it’s a high-value letter in Scrabble and Words with Friends, H is a relatively common letter. Statistically speaking, it is the eighth most commonly used letter in the English language. That’s because H is usually paired with other consonants like wh, ch, sh, and gh. H is found in the most common two-letter pair (th) and in the most common three-letter combination (the). (The letter …
Nearby words
Also letters of marque.
Origin of letter of marque
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
Also called letter of marque and reprisal, letters of marque and reprisal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for letter of marque
British Dictionary definitions for letter of marque
letter of marque
letters of marque
noun
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
Also called: letter of marque and reprisal
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