corsair

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈkɔːsɛə/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(kôr′sâr)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
cor•sair  (kôr′sâr),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Nautical, Naval Termsa fast ship used for piracy.
  2. Nautical, Naval Termsa pirate, esp. formerly of the Barbary Coast.
  3. Military(cap.) 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.
  • Medieval Latin cursārius, equivalent. to Latin curs(us) course + -ārius -ary
  • Upper Italian corsaro
  • Provencal corsar(i)
  • Middle French corsaire
  • 1540–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
corsair /ˈkɔːsɛə/ n
  1. a pirate
  2. a privateer, esp of the Barbary Coast
Etymology: 15th Century: from Old French corsaire pirate, from Medieval Latin cursārius, from Latin cursus a running, course
'corsair' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
hussar - Rabat - Barbary States - picaroon - pirate

Forum discussions with the word(s) "corsair" in the title:


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