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Added 9 October 2026

pirate

/ˈpaɪɹət/ noun

In Latin: pirata Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pirate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own.
Someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation.
A ship that is manned by pirates.

verb

Copy illegally; of published material.
Take arbitrarily or by force.
The Cubans commandeered the plane and flew it to Miami

Origin

From Middle English pirate, pirat, pyrat, from Old French pirate, from Latin pīrāta (“pirate”), from Ancient Greek πειρατής (peiratḗs), from πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, attempt, plot”). Displaced native Old English wīċing, which was the word for both "pirate" and "viking".

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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