pirate. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

pirate

SYLLABICATION:	pi·rate
PRONUNCIATION:	prt
NOUN:	1a. One who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without commission from a sovereign nation. b. A ship used for this purpose. 2. One who preys on others; a plunderer. 3. One who makes use of or reproduces the work of another without authorization. 4. One that operates an unlicensed, illegal television or radio station.
VERB:	Inflected forms: pi·rat·ed, pi·rat·ing, pi·rates
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To attack and rob (a ship at sea). 2. To take (something) by piracy. 3. To make use of or reproduce (another's work) without authorization.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To act as a pirate; practice piracy.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, from Old French, from Latin prta, from Greek peirts, from peirn, to attempt, from peira, trial. See per-³ in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	pi·ratic (p-rtk) , pi·rati·cal (--kl) —ADJECTIVE pi·rati·cal·ly —ADVERB


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.